The Conquerer of All : Kouryaku Shoujo Hen!
by Takoyaki-Sama
Summary: Keima Katsuragi must free girls from an infestation of evil spirits called Loose Souls. How does he free them? He makes them fall in love with him! [ON GOING] CHAPTER 19 IS MISSING! WILL WORK TO GET IT UP AGAIN!
1. A Whole New World

**Hello! This is my first story and it just so happens to be a crossover! As is with most first fics, there will possibly be grammatical, punctuation, and spelling mistakes that will escape me. If there's any of that, let me know!**

**Enjoy!**

Winter was the season when Café Grandpa had its most customers. Usually, it was the job of Elsie to make sure the Café was in presentable order while Mari took and took out orders. Many of the customers would be passing-by businessmen asking for a shot of espresso for their morning shot of energy, but the Café had it's share of regulars coming in every now and then. The regular customers would ask for the Café specialty : Crème Brulee. They swore no one else could make a better Crème Brulee than Mari Katsuragi.

Amidst the excitement that was a winter day in Café Grandpa, there was one person missing from this picture.

Keima Katsuragi was in his room, as usual, playing 6 galge at once. If not bothered, he could get as much as 30 galge done in a day. It just so happened that there was a clearance sale on the day of the Cafe's busiest day, not that Keima helped around a lot to begin with. He had bought Holy Reconquista 2, Onii-chan Love, and a heap of other big name galge that had shown up during the sale.

After completing the 6 games on his screen, he noticed he had an odd number of games left, which was fine by him. This meant he could get by this games and enjoy them faster. The first game was One Leaf, which he had already finished.

"Hm. That's strange... I thought I had already beaten this game," he said to himself as he took out the second game from the bag. It was another galge he had completed. "Are you meaning to tell me that I had wasted money on two games that I had already beaten?" Keima had said to himself, frustrated.

The third game was a game he had heard of, but never played since it was not a galge. TOUHOU was plastered on the cover in big blocky kanji. From looking at it, not a lot of imagination was put into the design of the cover, let alone the whole box. The box was a puke green with the red kanji on the front with no description on the back. It looked like a black market game that looked very low budget. The only text besides the big blocky kanji was the word 'VIRTUAL PFP" plastered on the bottom left of the case.

Upon opening the case, two things were clear: there was no instruction manual and the cartridge had no sticker of any sort. This game might be dangerous. For his Virtual PFP, that is.

Still, ignoring his own suspicions, he popped the cartridge in the Virtual PFP and looked inside.

"Nii-sama, it's time to eat," Elsie said knocking outside Keima's door. "Nii-sama Nii-sama Nii-sama Nii-sama Nii-sama!"

"What do you want, you stupid demon?" Keima yelled, slamming his door open. "I'm busy at the moment!"

"What are you doing?" Elsie asked, interestedly.

"It's just some weird game that I brought from a clearance sale with a weird case and everything" Keima said, forgetting he was yelling at Elsie.

"Can I see?"

"No. Now leave me alone." Keima said, slamming the door.

"Okay," Elsie muttered. "Ah, I'll get you your food!"

After looking inside the Virtual PFP and going through the main menu, it played like any bullet hell game he had played, fast paced and background completely covered by large amounts of bullets. To Keima, it was a decent game so far, until the first boss.

A short flying girl with clear diamond wings was flying around the screen shooting diamond-shaped bullets at the main character, who Keima assessed to be a miko.

After flying around and holding down the III button, the boss was defeated, but then the game turned off.

"Hmph, well it _was_ a black market game," said an annoyed Keima "I shouldn't have expected it to actually wor-"

A flash of red light started emanating from the cracks of the Virtual PFP, getting brighter by the millisecond. "Wh-what is this?!"

..

"Nii-sama, here's your foooooooood..?" Elsie said, barging into Keima's room, disregarding his rule about not doing so, only to not actually be in his room.

A dirt road in the middle of what looked to be a woodland area surrounded Elsie and a fainted Keima.

"Huh? Where's the d-" Elsie stopped to the sight of Keima on the ground, "WAAA~! Nii-sama! Nii-sama, are you okay?!" Elsie cried out, shoving Keima's limp body.

It was no use, the God was out like a light.

Elsie kept up her shoving and crying, which could've woken then dead.

"Oi, what's with your crying, ze~? I can hear you from all the way up in the air," said a blonde girl with a deep voice, flying down from the air on a broom

"M-my Nii-sama is dead. He's dead! He's dead! He's dead!" Elsie sobbed.

The blonde haired girl put two fingers on Keima's neck, "No, he's not dead. He's just unconscious. We can take him to Reimu, she probably has something to wake him up,"

"Reimu? Who is t-"

"DORODORODORODORO!"

Elsie let out a surprised yelp. The runaway spirit detector went off, and that can only mean...

"What the hell was that, ze~?"

"Ah, it was nothing! Come on, let's go." Elsie said, flying into the air in a rush.

"Oi, the shrine is this way." The blonde girl said, pointing the opposite direction Elsie flew.

With a little bit of help from this girl, Elsie, and a bit of hagoromo magic, Keima was secured on the back on Marisa's broom and Marisa flew into the air with Elsie following close behind, with a look of concern on her face. "What am I going to tell him when he wakes up?"

**Well! That concludes Chapter 1! Pretty short, but next will be longer! I PROMISE! Boy, I make the characters talk alot! Oh well, no matter. I hope you enjoyed!**

**Marisa, or should I say, the blond girl has a runaway spirit inside her? This will be tricky with God unconscious! **


	2. It's Magic, You Know

**Alright! Chapter 2. I guess I don't need to say that this chapter will be a little longer and more paced than the last chapter. As last time, please tell me if I'm lacking in certain areas in terms of grammar, punctutation, and so on. **

**Enjoy**

"Hey, Reimu, I brought guests!" The shoji door that opened up to a bedroom with a lone futon was opened so violently, the fragile door could have broken right then and there.

Elsie looked around the place. It looked more like a living quarters than a shrine. There were a few plants in the room with the futon and a kotatsu in the next room she followed the blonde spirit-holder to. The kotatsu had a plate with a sake bottle and 3 cups inside eachother. Underneath the kotatsu was a brown haired girl in full miko garb.

"Ugh," The blonde let out a low mutter, "Don't you know you'll get a cold if you sleep under the kotatsu?"

"That's a myth," The girl said, eyes still closed. " and you know it."

"Yeah yeah, anyway, there's a boy here who's unconscious, so wake him up."

"I'm a shrine maiden, not a doctor," The miko said with a look of annoyance on her face. "I can't wake him up with the power of the gods."

"Um, excuse me," Elsie chirped. "Who are you two?"

"Oh, right. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm the best fighter in Gensokyo : Kirisame Marisa, ze~!" The blonde said, pointing to herself. " And this is Reimu, the second strongest!"

"Reimu Hakurei, get the whole name next time," Reimu said, annoyed. "And as for your friend here, all I can do is just use some water to make sure he doesn't get heat stroke. It _is _summer, after all."

Reimu walked to the back to a cabinet, taking out a bottle that looked similar to the sake bottle and a napkin with an elegant design on the side. She then tipped the bottle over slightly, pouring some water on the napkin, and patted Keima's head with the wet nap.

"So, where ya from? You don't dress like the humans at the Human Village." Marisa asked.

"Oh, me and my brother are from Maijima City!" Elsie blurted out. "Have you been there?"

"Maijima City? I've never heard of that place. Where is it?" Marisa asked, with a slight look of concern on her face.

"Well, my geography is bad, but I think it's south Japan."

Reimu and Marisa had a look of shock on their faces. Someone from Japan, let alone two, crossed the Great Hakurei Barrier. It should have been impossible to cross without the help of a third party wielding powers great enough to break a barrier as old as the Hakurei Barrier, or in this case a game wielding powers great enough.

"Wait... Ya mean to tell me you're from the outside world?" Marisa asked, her suspicions confirmed.

"Well, no. I wasn't born in the surface. I was born in New Hell!" Elsie said cheerfully.

"Ah, so you're a youkai from Hell," Reimu said. "That explains you."

"Youkai? Aren't those just folktales?" Elsie asked.

Marisa and Reimu looked at each other, then burst out laughing. The humor was lost on Elsie.

"You're from Hell, no, NEW hell, and ya haven't seen a youkai before? That's hilarious!" Marisa laughed.

"Well, I've seen demons. Does that count?" Elsie said, slightly embarrassed at being laughed at.

"I don't think it does." Reimu said, her laughter dying down. "That's where demons live anyway."

All of a sudden, signs of movement came from Keima's body, as he shifted and groaned.

"Ngh.." He had a look of pain in his face.

"Kami nii-sama! You're awake!" Elsie beamed.

The sight of new faces immediately woke up Keima from his stupor.

"Elsie! Where- What-"

"Ah, Nii-sama. This is Reimu, and this is Marisa," Elsie introduced. "They're our hosts for this evening!"

Keima's look of bewilderment stayed. "You know what I meant. Why aren't we home?"

"Nii-sama, can I talk to you outside?" Elsie asked. "There's some things I need to let you know"

...

"What is it? Why are we here?" Keima beamed with question after question.

"Well, I just walked into your room to give you your food like I said, and as soon as I opened the door, we were here. The door was gone"

A sudden realization struck Keima. The game. Nothing else seemed like a logical reason for their arrival into a different setting. The game, the turning-off, the flashing. It all made sense. That game was the reason for being at this place.

"And also, that blonde girl," Elsie chose her words carefully. " She might or might not have a runaway spirit..."

"Huh? Who? Did the sensor go off?" Keima asked.

"Her name is Marisa and yes, and the only one around was her when the sensor did go off. She helped me bring you to that shrine when you were unconscious."

"I'm still feeling the unconsciousness. Damn headache." Keima rubbed his head

"Nii-sama, we have to capture the loose soul inside that girl."

"Wait, I'm trying to figure out something," Keima said "But I think I have it figured out anyway."

Confused, Elsie asked "Hm? Figured what out?"

"We're in that game I was talking about earlier. It turned off when I played it, and then flashed a blinding light. I don't really remember much after that." Keima said, stroking his chin.

"Do you think Vintage is behind this?" Elsie asked with a serious tone.

"Nonsense. They're gone." Said Keima, not too confident in his words.

"Well then, why else would a girl in a videogame have a runaway spirit in them then?" Elsie asked.

This made sense. No one else really has powers to do something like this other than Vintage, the rebel demon group.

"We'll find a way to get out of here. **I'll **find us a way out of here. First, let's worry about that runaway spirit." Keima said.

"Nii-sama, I've never seen you so worked up about a conquest before!" Elsie beamed.

"Well, of course. She's a videogame girl. This will prove to be an easy capture." Keima pushed up his glasses. "Now, let's go back."

"Ah, yes! Let's!" Elsie followed Keima close behind

"Wait," Keima stopped suddenly. "I need to tell you what's going to happen when we get back in the shrine. I'm going to play out certain triggers. I just need you to follow my lead."

Elsie, taken aback by the sudden note replied "Okay, sure."

...

"Is everything alright?" Reimu asked, sipping sake from a sake plate.

"Yes, everything is alright," Keima said. "Do you mind if we stay here for the night?" Right to the heart of the matter.

"Eeeehh? Don't you have a place to stay?" Reimu asked.

"No. You see, I'm an outsider and don't live here." Keima said.

"Aha! You're from the outside world! There's bound to be an incident because of you!" Reimu yelled accusingly.

"Well, may I stay?" Keima ignored.

"Sorry, I don't house outsiders." Reimu looked away.

"Hey Reimu, no need to be so mean. You two can stay with me, if you'd like, ze~!" Marisa said.

This was going according to plan. Ask Reimu to stay, knowing she would deny. Marisa would then invite the two of them to stay, out of pity. With the right events triggered, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to grow closer with her if any capturing was going to be done.

"Ah, thank you very much!" Elsie smiled.

Events played out in Keima's mind over and over again. _"The sleepover event. If used correctly this can help Marisa become closer to me thus, ending up in me capturing her. It's foolproof, but there is little room for error."_

"Elsie, can I talk to you once more?" Keima nodded toward the door. "It's important."

Elsie knew the face of neutrality and the face of seriousness by now. This was the latter. "Y-Yes!"

Walking outside, it was turning dusk. The first of few events was to happen tonight.

"Tell me her bio." Keima whispered.

"Okay." Elsie's hagoromo turned into a tablet in her hands displaying words in Hellian. "Let's see... Kirisame Marisa. Age 16. Birthday unknown. Tomboy. Likes magic and sake. Has a tendency to steal the belongings of others." The hagoromo slinked back into it's original puffy form. "That's not a lot to work on. She seems like she'll be a hard catch."

"Allow me to tell teach you something useful." Keima said, pushing his glasses up.

**"A TOMBOY CAN ONLY BE A TOMBOY UNTIL HER SENSE OF 'BOY' IS BROKEN!" **

"You're going to break her?" Elsie said, shocked. "Nii-sama, I don't think-"

"Don't be ridiculous. Think of some of the girls I've conquered. Most of the time, I've had to change the way they accept things. They accept that they're poor. They accept that they have a soft side." Keima said. "I'll bring out Marisa's girly side!"

"Marisa is very tomboyish! Will it really be that easy?" Elsie asked.

As if from out of nowhere, Marisa opened the sliding door, "Yo, we should get goin'."

"Yeah, you're right. Elsie, let's go." Keima's face answered her question.

As they flew into the air toward the dying sun, Keima, being held up by a hagoromo knot peered over to his side and looked at the side of Marisa's face. She looked confident. Strong. She had the face of a fighter. She was indeed a pretty girl.

_"Why does she have a gap in her heart? She looks happy enough to me."_

Keima wondered this the whole flight until they arrived in a clearing in the woods, in front of a wooden shack. This was it. The first event.

**Well, it was longer, though not that long! Next chapter is when things will start heating up! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Until next time. JA NE~!**


	3. The Sleepover

** Hohoho! Chapter 3 already? Last chapter, the God of Conquest found out that there's runaway spirits in the game world! How? Who's behind this? It can't be Vintage, the renegade demon squad, can it? Now, the God has to capture a runaway spirit in a tomboy! Let's see how he fares.**

* * *

"Sorry for the clutter." Marisa said embarrassedly. "I read a lot, if you couldn't tell." There were towers of books everywhere and bookshelves lined the walls in great quanitities. The wall may as well have been made of books.

"It's very nice. Thank you for having us." Keima put on his false smile.

The display in front of them made Shiori's, Keima's previous capture who was a bookworm, fortress of literature look small in comparison.

"I'll be back with your futons." Said Marisa, blushing out of embarrassment, as she disappeared into a backroom.

After he was sure she was gone from hearing range, Keima said "Elsie, I need you to make me invisible,"

"Hm? What for?" Elsie asked.

"Do you have to question everything I do?" Keima said, annoyed.

"I got it. I got it. Sorry." Elsie's hagoromo expanded and enveloped Keima's whole body in the pink puff.

"I'll be back," said Keima's voice. "If she asks, tell her I went out to go to the bathroom. Oh, and distract her. Try to prevent her from going upstairs."

"Roger!" Elsie saluted.

The stairs leading to the second floor was rather small and cramped. Perfect for Marisa's small stature. There were books around the staircase. Looking at the spines, there were books of many languages. Finally, Keima reached the second floor after what seemed like a fight with the stairs. Upon first glance, nothing was changed. Books galore. Books here. Books there. A door was the only thing besides a window not covered in books. Carefully, Keima opened the door then closed it. There was a bed with a window behind it and, big surprise, books.

_"Now, to find clues as to why she would have a gap in her heart," _Keima thought to himself.

Marisa's room was small with a chest on the floor and a closet with who-knows-what inside it. That wasn't important. Keima then tried to open the chest, to no avail. The thing was locked. Pointing to the lock, in hopes of getting the hagoromo to unlock it, the hagoromo slinked inside the lock and a **THK!** could be heard.

Opening the chest, there were two things. An octagonal shaped object with the eight trigrams on it, and a book which read _Journal _in English.

...

"Hey, where'd your brother go?" Marisa asked.

"A-ah, He went outside to go to the bathroom!" Elsie said, surprised by the question.

"In The Forest of Magic? At NIGHT? Izze' stupid?!" Marisa boomed.

"He'll come back soon!" Elsie said, very flustered. "In the meantime, let's set up the futons!"

"Isn't the life of your brother worth more than this?" Marisa asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, The Forest of Magic is a very dangerous place. Night and day!"

"I trust my Nii-sama," Elsie said with a smile. "He's never wrong and always plays it safe!"

"Ya really trust this guy, don't ya?" Marisa said, shaking her head. "Hmph. Whatever, but he's taking an awful long time out there,"

* * *

_"This... could be it. The ending?" _Keima opened the journal and the first thing he saw was a detailed picture of a girl. She had a ribbon in her hair and short hair. No color was added except for the ribbon. So much detail was added to the ribbon that it looked real. The girl had a look of disdain. As if something bad were going to happen.

_Who is this?_

Turning the page, a wall of letters. The words made no sense. It was a poem that most likely made sense only to Marisa. However, there was one word said more than any other. A name.  
Alice.

* * *

"I'm back." Keima announced, walking from the doorway after sneaking there from upstairs using the invisibility power of the hagoromo, making it look like he came from outside.

"Hey, next time tell me when you're goin' outside. It's dangerous! I have a bathroom, y'know." Marisa scolded.

"I should tell you when I'm going to the bathroom?" Keima asked with a blank stare.

Marisa's face shot bright red. "Shut up! Ya know what I mean!" Marisa handed him a cup with steam rising from the top. "Here."

Tea. Colored bright green. The herbs were still visible at the bottom of the cup. Taking a sip, Keima sat down.

"So, how'd ya wind up in Gensokyo?" Marisa asked.

"Well, it's a long story," Keima pushed up his glasses. "Long story short : we were kidnapped and thrown into this world!"

"What? Ya were? By whom?" Marisa asked, shocked.

"We didn't see his face," Elsie said, following along.

"His?" Marisa asked with great interest. Knowing that there was only one person with access to the outside world and Gensokyo that's a male, she asked, "Did he happen to wear glasses?"

"We didn't see," Keima knew she was onto him. Rushing to end the conversation, Keima said "We should be going to sleep. We have to find a way home tomorrow,"

"Yeah yeah. Alright then," Marisa got up and collected the tea cups. "If ya need me, I'll be upstairs. But first, I never did catch your names"

"I'm Keima Katsuragi and this is my sister Elsie"

"Huh. Cool names." An awkward silence. "Alright, good night and all that." She said, turning off the lights

"Ok. Thank you," Keima smiled another fake smile.

As she walked upstairs and out of sight, Keima whispered "Elsie."

"Hm?" Elsie was already half asleep after getting inside the futon.

"I found out something. Can you block our voices?" Keima whispered lighter.

"Yes, I can." Elsie said. The hagoromo built a dome of pink around Elsie and Keima.

"I found something interesting. A journal." Keima said, getting inside the futon.

"Kami Nii-sama, it's bad to snoop around a girls things!" Elsie whined.

"Well, I may have found out something as to why she has a gap in her heart. She likes someone who won't reciprocate their feelings." Keima said.

"The journal said that?"

"No, not exactly that." Said Keima, still thinking about the journal upstairs. "I saw a drawing. Very detailed. It's of a girl with short hair and a ribbon on her head. Her name was Alice."

"Oh?" Elsie said. "She likes a girl? Isn't that problematic?"

"Elsie. I can see it. The ending!"

"Huh wha? Really? This early? You just started the conquest!" Elsie was taken aback by this sudden claim.

"She may like a girl, but that doesn't mean she can't like a boy. Marisa is troubled because of this girl whom she likes. More troubled than some of the past conquests I've had. That makes it easier. I can probably finish this tonight if I raise the right flags."

"Nii-sama, I admire your confidence..." Elsie said, not believing him.

"Have I ever been wrong about a conquest?" He said, raising a brow.

"No, I guess you haven't!" Elsie's confidence toward Keima boosted. "But how can you finish this tonight? She went to sleep."

"I'll find a way to wake her up," Keima took off his glasses and layed down. "Just have faith."

"I have faith in you, Nii-sama!" Elsie lay down and the soundproof hagoromo dome went back into it's original form. "Good night."

* * *

_Kreeeak..._

_Kreeeeeeeak..._

The noise of disturbed wooden flooring woke Keima. A foot was making great effort to avoid making noise. Pretending to still be asleep, Keima's eyes opened slightly, only to see Marisa tiptoeing to the door. She twisted the knob slightly, to avoid making noise, and then closed it.

_"Why is she awake at this hour? I was supposed to wake her."_

Keima peered out the window to see Marisa sitting on the porch, clutching her legs close to her body. A loud sniffle. Marisa was crying.

_"..?"_

Keima then opened the porch door to see the back of a head with black pajamas on.

"Sorry. Did I wake you?" Marisa said, trying to hide her sobbing voice.

"No, I was already awake." Keima sat down beside Marisa.

Looking away to avoid Keima's gaze, Marisa said "Well? Why are ya out here then?"

"You're crying." Keima said. "It's clear as day."

"Eheh, am I that bad at hiding things?" Said Marisa, looking forward. "Hey, Keima?"

"Hm?"

"Have you ever been in love?" Marisa asked bluntly.

"Have you?" Keima asked, trying to avoid the question.

"I asked first."

"No. I have not. I try to avoid that." Keima said.

"Oh..." Marisa had a disappointed tone in her voice.

"Why?"

"Well, y'see..." She took a while to answer. "There's this friend of mine whom I've known for a while. They're always there for me when and I need them and when I don't." Marisa's voice started to crack. "I just can't help but like them."

"What kind of person are they?" Keima asked with a gentle voice.

"Well, I guess the word tsundere could come into play." Marisa blushed. "And she's also very soft spoken."

_"The complete opposite of you, it seems." _Keima thought but dared not say it. "I see. You want my help."

"I guess, putting it bluntly, that is what I want."

"Well, I might leave tomorrow, so I might not be able to help, but there are a few pointers I can give you right now."

"Ah, right. You're leaving." Marisa muttered.

"Tsundere girls stop becoming tsundere when you see the real them." Keima said "Do things you normally wouldn't do for them. Talk to them a great deal. They'll treat you as an equal instead of looking down upon you."

"It makes sense but, how do you know so much?" Marisa asked with a quizzical look.

"I may not have fallen in love, but I have been in relationships, if I can call it that." Keima said, closing his eyes in thought.

"I see..." Marisa said, staring at Keima. "Y'know, you're a nice guy. There should be more of you in Gensokyo."

"Hardly."

"Hey, you're helping me when we just met yesterday. That's a nice guy in my book."

_"Is she making her own event?" _Keima wondered and said "I suppose."

"You're not used to praise, are ya?" Marisa said, chuckling.

"No, not really," Rushing to end the conversation again, Keima said "It's really late. Let's go to bed."

"Yeah yeah." Marisa said getting up.

Heading towards the door, Keima's armsleeve was tugged, stopping him. Looking back, Marisa with her head down opened her mouth as to say something, but closed it. She looked up.

"What are you waiting for? Open the door." Marisa said in a whisper.

After opening the door, Keima was pushed in and the door was closed, with Marisa following. "Follow me," Marisa said, tiptoeing up the stairs to avoid waking up Elsie. Marisa seemed to go up the stairs with considerably less trouble than Keima. After reaching the second floor, the door to Marisa's room was open. Rustling came from the room and after a while, Marisa's head popped out.

"You comin' in or what?" She whispered.

Keima stepped into the all too familiar room. The chest from before was open and in her hands, Marisa held up a book. Guilt suddenly came over Keima.

"I wanna show you a drawing," Marisa said, opening the book. "It's a good drawing, if I can say so myself."

The drawing of Alice. The drawing was quite detailed. Shadows on the face and eyes were obvious, and the hair stranded to perfection. It cut off on the sleeves and the only thing with color was the ribbon.

"Well? Whaddya think?" Marisa said with a smirk. "Good, huh?"

"I never took an interest towards art," Keima said, recalling his past artworks. "But that is a great drawing."

"Eheh, you flatter me," Marisa said. "She's the friend I was talking about whom I like."

"She's pretty. What's her name?"

"Alice. She lives not too far away from here. She's actually a little bit of a walk away."

"What's stopping you?" Keima asked, suddenly.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, what's stopping you from confessing?"

"Um-"

"You come off as a confident person. Is that all an act?" Keima prodded.

"Hey, n-now wait a sec." Marisa stuttered, totally caught off guard.

"She won't like you if you do nothing. No one will."

"And how do you know, Mr. I've-Never-Fallen-In-Love-Before?" Marisa asked with looks that could kill.

"As I've said, I've been in relationships bef-"

"Yeah, but you make them sound like they don't last. They don't do they?"

Silence.

"I got it right on the nose, didn't I?" Marisa smiled.

"Yeah, you did." Keima said, putting his head down.

"Huh?"

"They don't last. You're right."

"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean it." Marisa said guiltily.

"It's ok, you're right," Keima got up. "See you in the morning."

"Oi, wait-"

Marisa was left there alone. Keima had already left.

_"What did I do?" _Marisa thought.

* * *

**Did I end that too suddenly? Sorry if I did. I don't think I did!**

**Anyway, I made this much longer! Next chapter, the climax?**


	4. It's You

**Wow, Chapter 4. Last chapter sorta left you hanging, didn't it? Well, time to delve deeper into the questions last chapter left. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Nii-sama, why did you do that?" Elsie whispered.

Keima settled into the futon once more. It was clear that Elsie was awake the whole time, listening to the argument, if it can be called that, that ensued between Marisa and Keima. Her questions weren't letting up.

"Nii-sama, I have faith but aren't you going about this capture the wrong way?" Elsie whined.

"I'd say I'm making good progress." Keima said. "She could've cried in her room, but instead she came downstairs and sat on the porch and cried. She wanted someone to talk to."

"Ohhh... You're right..." Elsie said, amazed. "She could have done that."

"Little arguments, like the one we had, can help bring two people closer together. She wouldn't let someone who knows her secret of liking someone else go."

"Wow, Nii-sama! You truly are amazing!" Elsie beamed.

"Naturally." Keima pulled the futon covers over his body. "It's almost morning and we need to get up early tomorrow. Go to sleep."

"Okay. Good night, Nii-sama!"

"Mhm..."

* * *

_"What did I do?"_

Marisa was stared outside her window, thinking of the argument from a few minutes ago. Droplets of water started hitting the window as the first hint of a morning sun came out. After a minute, the rain started coming down hard over the roof. Marisa hugged her legs tighter to her body on her bed.

_"Why am I crying? I never cry!__"_

Marisa went over to the chest to put the journal away. A piece of paper was on the corner of the chest, folded neatly in a square. Looking at it, it took a while to make out what it was exactly. It was a drawing, Marisa knew that much. A terribly drawn one. After looking at it for a while, she realized it was her. The hat was a dead giveaway. The blob next to her had a red line going horizontally over her head. It was Alice. Written neatly over them was 1 word :

_**Confess**_.

_"How did he get in here? When? I didn't see him!" _Marisa shot a bright red. _"This guy... What's with him?!" _Marisa thought, forgetting she was angry.

Marisa realized what she had said during the argument. How he never fell in love or how none of his relationships ever last. To her, Keima was strange. How could someone be in a relationship and not fall in love even once? It didn't make sense.

_"I guess I haven't really fallen in love either. He was being kind of rash all of a sudden, but that still doesn't change the fact that I said something pretty mean. Even for me, it was harsh..." _Marisa lay down on her bed. _"He's a pretty decent guy, I can't believe he hasn't found the one yet."_

Looking at the note once more, she thought, _"Pretty decent guy. He's a pretty decent guy. As decent as they come." _Marisa's head nodded a few times with the thought echoing in her head. _"Pretty... Decent... Guy..."_

* * *

The rain was still going strong until the afternoon and Marisa had still not emerged from her room. Keima and Elsie argued on who would go up and wake her. She sure was a late sleeper and the argument on who would wake her up lasted until late afternoon. By then, the rain subsided and the sky started to show its orange colors. A whole day had gone by and no sign of Marisa.

"Fine, I'll go up. I don't know why you wouldn't go up earlier." Keima said with an annoyed tone.

"She looks like she'd be scary if woken up," Elsie said, coiled up in her hagoromo . "And this is your capture anyway, Nii-sama."

"Excuses. I'll be back." Keima walked up the cramped staircase to the second floor.

"Good luck, Kami Nii-sama!"

Going up the staircase to the second floor, Keima noticed that the door to Marisa's room was ajar with no light coming from within. He couldn't believe that someone could be asleep for a whole day. Walking up to the door to listen for any signs of life, Keima heard a sound coming from her room.

_"Hey, Alice... No... You know... Like...Wondering..."_

She was practicing lines on what to say to Alice. Looking through the crack in the door, Marisa even had body positions to go along with it. The idea of releasing a runaway spirit by getting the host to fall in love with someone else has occurred to Keima in the past. While there might have been some complications with it in the long run, such as the host forgetting the one they loved, the spirit would have been released and the after events would not have involved Keima. Marisa, on the other hand, seems to have liked Alice for quite some time and it was unlikely to Keima that she would forget easily. Maybe video game girls don't have fragile minds like the girls of the real world do. Maybe Marisa will remember everything. It was time to help Marisa and get this loose soul out of her.

_Knock knock..._

"Eh?!" Marisa scrambled to regain her normal self. "C-come in!"

"It's just me." Keima leaned against the doorway.

"Oh... Hi." Marisa turned around, embarrassed about last night.

"I saw everything. Come on, we're going." Keima turned around to leave.

"Oh, right. You're leaving. I had almost forgotten."

"No, we're going to confess."

"Huh? What do ya mean 'confess'?" Marisa turned an even brighter shade of pink

"How long are you gonna postpone confessing to her? It's gonna happen today, or nev-"

"Oi, Wait a sec. I need to ask ya something."

"It can wait. We're leaving."

Keima walked downstairs and folded the futons with Elsie. Marisa stayed upstairs, wondering. Wondering why this boy was so eager to help her. Wondering why it was her he was helping. Wondering why he was so hateable but so... likeable. Whatever the case, Keima was right : Postponing was getting her nowhere. It was time. Now or never.

"Come on!" Keima said from downstairs.

"Yeah yeah, hold your horses, da ze~." Marisa walked downstairs, broom in hand.

...

"Nii-sama, you should be a lawyer with your convincing skills!" Elsie said, shocked at the fact that Keima got her to willingly accept that it was time to confess.

"I didn't convince her. She could've not come down and still moped around in her room. She convinced herself. I was just bringing up the idea that she should." Keima said pushing up his glasses.

"Oi, Keima, are we gonna do this or not?" Marisa said, walking from upstairs.

"Yeah, let's go." Keima said, starting for the door. "Elsie, stay here."

"Hmph, fine." Elsie said, insulted that she couldn't go.

"Don't worry, we'll be back soon. I just gotta... talk to Reimu with him." Marisa lied.

"I understand. Have fun..." Elsie groaned.

Keima and Marisa walked out the door and on the trail to the forest. After a turn, the two couldn't be seen by the window. Elsie laid down, wondering if Marisa confessing would actually release the runaway spirit.

_"Good luck, Nii-sama."_

* * *

"Y'know, we could've flown there." Marisa said.

"I know." Keima said almost instantly.

An awkward silence washed over the two.

"So... Why didn't we?"

"I prefer walking."

Another silence.

"Does- uh... Does your sister know?" Marisa asked.

"No." Keima said.

Yet another silence.

"Oi, I can tell that you're angry and all about last night. I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry that I said that. It's just that-"

"What are you talking about?" Keima stopped and turned around.

"Oh, come on. I'm talkin' about last night. You know, how we had an argument?"

"I forgot all about that. You should too," Keima resumed walking. "Arguments are just forgettable anyway."

"Oi, Keima-kun, it's hard to forget something like that. I mean, we were friendly one second and then hostile toward each other like that."

"...Keima-kun?" Keima stopped suddenly.

It took a while for Marisa to fully comprehend what he had just said. He was addressing her slip of the tongue. She added the formality of endearment at the end of Keima's name.

"Ah, I'm sorry! Sorry sorry! I say that at the end of everyone's name!" Marisa scrambled for words.

"Really? It's fine then." Keima said, unconvinced.

"Whew... Okay, sorry 'bout that." Marisa relaxed and kept leading.

_..._

10 Minutes later.

...

"Her house is-" Marisa started to say hesitantly. "Her house is right here..."

"Down here? It looks like a dead end." Keima said. A wall of trees was visible at the end of the trail.

"N-no... There's a turn. We'll see it." Marisa looked down and she continued to lead.

After walking down for a few minutes, it became evident that there was no turn. The dead end was shaped in the shape of a circle and a single extinguished lantern was hanging from the branch of a tree. The clearing in the middle of the dead end had a perfect view of the sky above, starry as it was.

"Where's the turn?" Keima asked.

"There isn't one." Marisa said.

"Then why are we-"

"Keima," Marisa interrupted. "I know you were in my room. That note you left. Ya left it on purpose, didn't you?"

"Wasn't that obvious?"

"Yeah, I guess it was." Marisa kicked the floor. "Hey, Keima..."

"What?"

"I need to ask you some, so answer it seriously..." Marisa hesitated. "Why did you choose to help me?"

A silence all to familiar to the two came over them. The silence was dead and the trees made no noise.

"Because if I didn't know how to tell some I liked that I liked them, I would want some help too."

"That's not my problem. Keima, the truth is..." Marisa looked down at the ground.

Marisa was quiet for a minute. She walked up to Keima, head still facing toward the ground. Another minute passed when she looked up at him. Keima stared wide-eyed at Marisa.

"The truth is, I like you." Marisa said, as she hugged Keima's neck. "No one else has seen my sensitive side. I always show the 'tough' or 'rude' side of me. Only you, Keima, have seen the real me!"

"Marisa, w-wait..!" Keima said.

Marisa inched her face closer to Keima's before exchanging a deep kiss. The kiss lasted for a few seconds before the runaway spirit came out, showing its green body, and going into the sky. In his peripheral vision, Keima saw the green spirit sucked into a small containment bottle by Elsie.  
After the kiss broke, Marisa fainted, as some hosts do right after the spirit inside them is released. Piggybacking her body, Keima started for her house. Elsie soon came down, bottle in hand.

"Nii-sama! You did it!" Elsie said, showing off the containment bottle.

"No, she did. She finally told someone she liked them. Me." Keima said. "As soon as she forgets about the event tonight, she should have enough courage to finally confess to the one who really matters. Elsie, help me bring Marisa back home."

"Okay!" Elsie tied the hagoromo around Marisa and her broom as she lifted the two toward Marisa's house. After 15 minutes, the house was visible.

"Here." Keima opened the door for Elsie, as she lifted the two into the shack.

...

"Nii-sama, she's in bed. She should wake by tomorrow morning." Elsie said, getting into the futon.

"Good job." Keima said, turning his back on Elsie in the futon.

"Good job, Kami Nii-sama!" Elsie said. "I'll see you in the morning! Good night!"

"Good night." Keima whispered.

_"So, it turns out a video game girl can have problems too. I had always assumed they were just programming," _Keima thought. "_Turns out, they're much more than that."_ Closing his eyes, Keima smiled. _"I hate the real world, but this isn't much better, is it?"_

* * *

**_Alright, Marisa was captured! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I would like to know if I should continue this story, so please let me know! Leave a review of advice, or just anything! Bye!_**


	5. Bamboo

**Alright! Last chapter, the loose soul was exorcised from Marisa's body thanks to Keima. Does this mean that it's time to go home?**

* * *

The night of the capture took a toll on Keima and Elsie, as they woke up soon after an excited Marisa kicked them out. She said she was going to do something important. Out in the Forest of Magic all alone, Keima and Elsie waited, knowing the dangers of the forest. Flying to the shrine was brought up at one point between the two, but quickly dismissed.

"I wonder what she's doing," Elsie said. "She's been in there for a while."

"Knowing her, probably getting ready to confess," Keima got up. "We should go."

"Huh? But I thought flying was a no-go."

"It's just flying, we can't really get into any trouble in the air."

"Marisa warned against the Forest of Magic, even flying, didn't she?" Elsie got up, readying her hagoromo for flight anyway.

"The real danger is in the ground, I suppose," Keima said. "Come on, I'm sure that Reimu girl will know more about this anyway."

"Okay, if you say so." Elsie's hagoromo wrapped around Keima then lifted him as they flew over the forest. Looking down, there were only two clearings : the clearing Marisa's house is located in and a white house, assumed to be Alice's. From a distance, the torii gates of the shrine could be seen standing tall on a hill. The mirage of the heat made the shrine look farther away than it actually was.

"Man, this weather sure is all over the place," Elsie shouted over the wind, getting her hagoromo to create a pink fan to cool her self off. "Wasn't it just raining?"

"Just focus on the problem at hand," Keima shouted "The sooner we're out of here, the sooner we get back to normal weath-"

An explosion set off on Elsie's right, confusing the path of flight. Explosion after explosion, Elsie was dodging them with Keima hanging low.

"Nii-sama, we're being shot at!" Elsie shouted, dodging numerous explosions.

"Elsie, drop down by that mountain!"

A brush of green bamboo was visible from the air.

"W-Why th-" A grazing shot stopped the demon and she did as she was told.

Looking back, a small figure was chasing them. "Elsie, drop down now!"

"Right!" Elsie dipped down suddenly into the thick brush. Bamboo was everywhere and dodging them with a passenger on board was no easy task. For a while, all the could be seen was bamboo.

"Is it still following us?" Elsie shouted, dodging bamboo stalks.

Looking back to see no figure behind them, Keima said, "No, I think they're gone."

Elsie slowed down. Clearly lost in the forest of bamboo. "Where are we..?"

"Like I would know!" Keima shouted. "Whatever you do, don't go up. We can't risk being seen again."

"Do you think that was a Vintage member?" Elsie asked.

"Doubtful. Since when do they set off explosions like that?"

"You're right," Elsie set Keima on the ground. "I think we're lost."

Beside the trail the two were on, the whole scenery was covered in trees and bamboo stalks. For miles, all that could be seen was bamboo and trees. They were lost, with no way of going up.

"Nii-sama... What do we do?" Elsie started to cry.

"We walk."

"Uhuuuu~" Elsie sobbed. "We're dead. Deader than dead."

"Shut up, we're not dead yet. We're just lost."

A rustling sound came from the bamboo on the left. They shook as though something were lightly moving it. The bamboo that moved came closer to the two.

"Wh-whos' there?" Elsie said, terrified.

A white haired girl was a bow in her hair showed herself. She had red eyes and wore a dress shirt with overalls.

"You two lost?" she asked.

"Are you the one who was shooting at us?" Elsie asked, cowering behind Keima.

"Ah, you two were shot at?" The girl relaxed her head in her arms. "Most likely by Kagerou no doubt. She's always so scrappy."

"Who are you?" Keima asked.

"Huh... You're not one to take it slow, are ya? Anyway, my name is Mokou. Nice to meet ya." She waved "You _are _lost, aren't ya?"

"Yes, we are." Keima said with a slight coldness in his voice.

"Hey, lighten up, man. I 'aint gonna hurt you," Mokou said with a chuckle. "It's not often you see lost people here."

"Nii-sama... I have a cut..." Elsie whispered, revealing a small gash on Elsie's arm.

"You alright?" Mokou tried to look behind Keima.

"She'll be fine." Keima said "Now, could you direct us to the Hakurei Shrine?"

"That place? I dunno how to get there from here." Mokou scratched her head. "And besides, I hate that miko bitch."

"Well, can you take us to the nearest town so we can get directions there?"

"Oh! The closest place? Sure, follow me." Mokou turned around and began to walk.

After 10 minutes, the scenery began to change. The thickness and number of bamboo started to rise and the trail became thinner. The morning sun was already blocked out by the bamboo and the trail became dark. After walking for what seemed like eternity, a small cut in the bamboo walls appeared and a roof of an old Japanese mansion popped from the top. Going through the cut, a bunch of girls with rabbit ears were running and playing. Some were hitting the insides of barrels with mallets, while some were eating carrots and conversing.

"Woooahhh... What is this place?" Elsie said in amazement.

"Eientei, home of the moon rabbits. Alright, I gotta go before-"

"Mokouuuu~! How pleasant to see you again," A girl with long black hair in a pink shirt and long skirt started to totter toward the trio. "Ah, and you brought friends, I see. How nice to see that you can make friends!"

"Yeah, it's better than having friends you've been living with for years." Mokou said.

"My, how cold of you! Won't you introduce me?"

'What the hell are you even doing out here anyway? You always stay cooped up inside anyway, doing whatever it is you do."

"I'll have you know I can be busy at times! After all, the Moon Festival is near!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Anyway, I don't even know these guys myself. They need help getting to the red and white miko girl."

"Reimu-san? I'd be happy to help them to where you can't."

"Grrrr... I'd be happy to kick..." Mokou grumbled quietly. "I'm leaving. See ya." Mokou stomped as she walked out into the bamboo thicket.

"My, that Mokou... So nice, as always." The girl in pink said.

"Um, excuse me..." Elsie said, interrupting the pink girl's daze.

"Ah, yes! Pardon me. I'm Kaguya Houraisan. Welcome to Eientei. I heard you needed to go to the Hakurei Shrine?"

"Yes, we could've gone there by ourselves, but some girl named Kagerou started to shoot at us. Going by air would be dangerous. We've resorted to going by foot." Keima said.

"Kagerou-chan, so rowdy that girl," Kaguya turned around. "Come, I'll show you how to get there."

Stepping inside the mansion, the hallways looked like that out of an old Japanese movie. The hallways perfectly lined with wood, and the sliding doors with the square-shaped Kanji for moon on the screens of the doors. The three walked for a minute before stopping in front of a sliding door. Kaguya knocked.

"Eirin-san, are you in there?" Kaguya pressed her face to the door to listen in.

"Come in." A motherly voice said.

Kaguya slid the door open to reveal an office lined with books, resembling the shelves in Marisa's house. There were also jars of pills lining the shelves with different tags on them, ranging from 'antihistamine' to 'laxatives' In the middle of it all, a white haired girl with a braid reaching the floor was writing. She had a checkered dress of red and blue and wore a blue hat.

"How may I help you, Miss Kaguya?" The woman spoke.

"Well, the sweet and darling Mokou blessed us with friends of hers to whom she couldn't help." Kaguya said teasingly.

"Friends, hm? I take it they're lost?"

"Of course, I was wondering if you had any directions on how to get to the Hakurei Shrine. That's where they need to go."

"I do have directions," The woman turned around. "But first let me see that arm."

"Huh? Me?" Elsie said, being stared at by the nurse.

"Yes, I sensed that cut on your arm when you came in," The nurse chuckled. "It's only natural a nurse like me senses cuts from a mile away."

**DORODORODORODORODORODORODORO! **

"Eep!" Elsie pressed the runaway spirit detector to shut it off.

"What was that?" Kaguya and the nurse asked in perfect unison.

"M-my alarm! I woke up early!" Elsie barely managed to stutter the words out.

Keima stared at the nurse intently. There was a loose soul in this woman. The nurse is the next girl in need of capturing.

"I have just the thing for your arm. Mochi ointment!" The nurse said, pulling out a white tube.

"Excuse me." Keima interrupted.

"Yes?" The nurse smiled.

"What is your name? I missed it."

"Oh, my apologies. My name is Eirin."

"I'm Keima. This is Elsie. Thank you for helping us, miss."

"My, I didn't know Mokou was friends with such a gentleman." Eirin giggled, spreading the ointment on Elsie's arm.

"Well, I try." Keima chuckled with a false smile.

"There! Now you're done!" Eirin said, washing the rest of the ointment off of her hands with a rag. "Now, for those directions..."

"Ah, yes please." Keima walked with Eirin to her desk.

"I'll just write them down. Please give me a second."

"That's fine. We'll just wait outside."

Keima and Elsie walked outside while Eirin and Kaguya stayed inside the room.

"Nii-sama, she's-"

"I know... I know." Keima said.

"Nii-sama, it seems Marisa wasn't the only one," Elsie frowned. "There's more, and there's bound to be many more."

"No matter. I'll capture this girl and all the other ones."

"Nii-sama, does this mean..."

"Yes, we're staying. For now."

* * *

**Whaaaaat? Staying? No way! Eirin has a loose soul! What to do, what to do?**

**I hope you enjoyed it. See you next chapter.**


	6. Intermission

**Hm... Seems like quite the predicament! Not even a day after the capture of Marisa does another loose soul pop up! This time, it's the nurse of Eientei : Eirin Yagokoro. Just how many loose souls ARE there? Now, back to the capture already in progress.**

* * *

"Keima-san, here are your directions," Eirin said, handing him a paper with the neatest handwriting he had ever seen.

"Thank you very much," Keima said, taking the paper with directions to the shrine.

The directions were rather vague, as it said to look out for 'this certain tree' or 'a creek'. The directions were numbered to show which directions to follow first, as they were also written in columns.

_1\. Going from the entrance of Eientei, follow the trail until you come across a crossroads. The crossroad is a bit far from here, so just keep going._

_2\. At this point, make a left at said crossroad._

_3\. If you see a creek on your left, you are going the right way. Keep going forward until you reach the end of the trail where a left or right must be made._

_4\. Go right and the trail should end suddenly. A clearing in the trees should be visible above. From here, you can fly without risk of being attacked. Also, the shrine will be visible as soon as you're in the air._

_Good luck,_

_Eirin _

Keima slipped the directions in his pocket and said, "I'm sorry but it's rather late. Do you mind if we stay here for the night?"

"Nii-sama!" Elsie exclaimed, shocked that he asked. "The sun is still up, and-"

"Oh, it's quite alright. We would love for you to stay," Eirin said. "Actually, if you'd like, you may want to join us for the Moon Festival. It's a tradition we hold once every month!"

_"Perfect." _Keima thought. "We'd love to. Right Elsie?"

"Of course, it sounds like fun!" Elsie said nervously.

"Well, then it's settled. The festival is in two days, so please make yourselves at home until then. Give me a second to get your rooms ready." Eirin said, walking outside and shutting the sliding door behind her.

"You really have no fear, Nii-sama." Elsie said.

"How else are we going to do this capture if we're not even here? I had to ask," Keima said. "Besides, this is a once in a lifetime chance. The events are practically unfolding themselves right in front of me."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, we got invited to a festival that's in two days. It's a perfect time allotment for the capture, and it can set the perfect mood for when the final event takes place."

"Wow. You're right! It is perfect!" Elsie beamed.

All of a sudden, the sliding door leading outside opened and a girl with lilac hair and perkier rabbit ears stepped in. She wore a white short sleeved dress shirt and a skirt. Looking left, then right at Keima and Elsie, she said, "Keima and Elsie?"

"Yes. That's us." Keima replied.

"Ah, nice to meet you. I'm Reisen. I'm supposed to show you to your rooms. Follow me." She said, as she motioned the two to follow her.

Stopping in front of a sliding door, Reisen said, "This'll be your room for your stay. If you need anything, just ask any of the rabbits inside or outside. There's a bathroom inside your room."

"Thanks." Keima said.

"Anytime. See you later." Reisen said, walking the way she came.

Opening the sliding door leading to the room, four futons were folded on the right side of the room. A kotatsu was located in the middle with a set of cups, resembling the room in Reimu's shrine. A small closet located in the back of the room held four yukata that were perfectly folded on top of one another. Another sliding door in the back that was slightly ajar showed what appeared the be the bathroom.

"This reminds me of the inns back in Maijima!" Elsie squealed.

"I'm gonna take a shower, I have to start this conquest today." Keima said.

"But we just got here." Elsie groaned.

"That's no excuse to be lazy. If we waste the few days we have here, we won't have a reason to stay any longer. That will make the capture impossible."

"Okay okay." Elsie sprawled out across the floor, tired from everything that has happened thus far. The shooting, getting lost in a bamboo forest only to find a small civilization in the middle of it. Even if the day had just begun, it felt like a whole week.

...

Keima walked out of the bathroom with a towel hooded over his head. Looking around, Elsie was nowhere to be seen. Giggling could be heard outside. Keima opened to sliding door and saw two of the rabbit/girl hybrids from before braiding Elsie's hair. Startled by the opening of the door, they ran away with the braiding only half finished.

"What's their problem?" Keima asked.

"Oh, they told me that most of the rabbits here have never seen a man before," Elsie explained. "They're scared of the deep voice and build of a man, they said."

"Never seen a man? Aren't there any men in Gensokyo?" Suddenly, Keima realized. The gap in the heart of Marisa was made because of another girl and thinking about it, Keima had seen only girls since he arrived in Gensokyo. Does this world only consist of women? Then Keima remembered when he and Elsie made up the story of the kidnapper bringing them to Gensokyo. Marisa had asked if the man had glasses. Did this mystery man know how to get out of here?

"Apparently, there are. In the Human Village and there's a merchant living not too far from here. They almost never come here and when they do, the rabbits run away." Elsie said.

"Elsie, do you remember when we made up the kidnapper thing when we explained to Marisa how we got here?" Keima asked.

"Yeah, I do," Elsie said, surprised. "Why?"

"Marisa had asked if that 'kidnapper' had glasses. I think she knows that man and probably knew he could've had the power to bring us here."

"I... don't understand."

"I'm saying she knows of someone who could get in and out of this place. That 'man' could be our ticket out of here."

Elsie was dumbfounded. "Nii-sama, you're a genius! I had totally missed that!"

"Now, we can't let that sidetrack us. There may be runaway spirits here and we should capture them lest the collar activates."

"Wow, you're usually so reluctant to capture runaways. Is it because these are videogame girls?"

"That's part of it. The other part is that looking at them in a new light, video game girls and real girls aren't that different."

Silence.

"Nii-sama..." Elsie whispered. "Did you just say what I think you just said? Did you just admit that real girls and video game girls aren't that different?"

"Yes. I say this because I've never been in a videogame. Now that I am in one, I much prefer just playing them. I'm disappointed to say the least."

"Nii-sama, a week ago you would've said the exact opposite. I'd say you've grown!" Elsie jumped up and down, undoing the braid.

"Don't let that get to your head! I still hate the real world!" Keima yelled. "Come on, we have to start."

"Oh, right. The conquest."

_Nii-sama just admitted something he would've never admitted before. I guess behind all that programming and pixels, video game girls are just as troubled as real ones and he finally realized it. _Elsie thought. _I wonder if he's ever wanted to be in a video game before. Knowing him, he probably has. This whole experience is really scary, being in a video game and all, but Nii-sama just goes on with a courageous face. I guess that's why he's the best buddy in existence!_

"Elsie, what are you doing? We have to go!" Keima shouted.

"Right! Coming!" Elsie said, following Keima in the direction of the office of Eirin.

* * *

**Keima thinks video game girls and real girls aren't that different? Wow. What a sudden realization! Next chapter, the three day conquest begins!**

**A short chapter, I know. The chapters will continue to get longer from here.**

**Leave a review or anything if you prefer it! I could always use some advice on how to write or just some words of encouragement is always nice too! Thanks for reading.**


	7. Blind Love

**Remembering an earlier conversation, there possibly is someone who can get Keima and Elsie out of Gensokyo and back home. Finding this man should be easy, seeing as though the inhabitants of Gensokyo are mostly women. But first, the conquest at hand...**

* * *

The hallways echoed with outside noises of hammering and singing. Eirin's office was located near the entrance of the hallway, but it didn't help that all the sliding doors look the same. Following the singing, Keima and Elsie walked toward what they hoped would be the entrance. This place was like a maze, a big maze made of bamboo and thin sliding doors. Eventually, walking past the entrance, the two spotted Eirin's office and knocked before a voice heard within said "A-ah! W-wait!" Fumbling of a desk and shattering of glass could be heard within.

Concerned about the noises heard, Elsie asked. "Are you okay, Eirin-san?"

"Yes, yes. I am fine." More shattering. "Um, now is not a good time. Can you come back later?"

"Eirin?" Keima said this time.

"Yes?" Silence from within

"Can you at least show your face?"

"W-what? Why?"

"I just wanna know if Eirin-sama is alright, that's all!" Keima said with a charming voice.

"Eirin-sama?! What do you-" She stopped. "Fine. Come in, just make sure no one else comes in."

As Keima nodded at Elsie before going inside, getting ready for anything, he opened the door. Inside was a mess of papers and the jars of the pills from before. The back of Eirins large desk chair was visible with the back of Eirin's head sticking out from the top of the chair. Her arms kept moving, as if searching for something but not too sure where it could be. Turning around to the noise of an opening door, two things could be seen on Eirin's face : Her eyes were a dark grey and sullen, and a look of fear on her face.

"What-" Keima started.

"I can't see. It just happened out of nowhere! I'm completely blind and can't see a thing!"

"_Nii-sama, I think the loose soul is doing this."_ Elsie whispered. "_We've seen them causing abnormalities in hosts before."_

"Eirin-sama, walk toward my voice." Keima said, wanting to confirm that the sight before him is true. Eirin staggered bowleggedly with her arm extended trying to grab anything within reach.

"Keima, Elsie, please help me." Eirin started to tear up. "I can't afford to stay blind. I'm the only nurse here!"

"Don't worry, we will." Keima said. "Here take my hand."

Eirin grasped his hand and the fear was evident in her shaking. Keima led her to her bed, and laid her down to get her to relax.

"Do you have anything that might help with this? Any medicine or something?" Keima asked.

"Well, I do have something that helps with astigmatism, but it isn't long-term and this seems more serious." Eirin said, calming down a bit. "It would be on the middle drawer on the left on my desk in a bright blue box with writing on it."

Keima walked over to the desk and opened the drawer as instructed. The first thing he saw was the bright blue box with a strange writing slightly resembling Hellian, in the sense that both languages have curly letters. Opening the box, there was one bright blue octagonal-shaped pill that plopped onto Keima hand.

"Here. There was only one in the box." Keima handed the pill to her.

"Thank you." She said before sitting up and swallowing the pill.

After waiting a few seconds, Keima asked "Did it work?"

"No... I don't think so." Eirin said, with great disappointment evident in both her face and voice. Eirin's eyes began to water. "I can't afford to be sick. What will happen is a rabbit gets sick? I can't heal someone when I'm blind..."

"Do you know anyone who could help with this?" Elsie asked. "Anyone in particular?"

"No... I don't" Eirin said, losing all hope. "I can't let anyone see me like this. It'll lower morale around here."

"Don't worry. We'll take care of it." Keima said. "Actually, Elsie can take up your job for you."

"What?! Nii-sama, I don't know if I have what it takes to be a nurse!"

"I mean, that you can look like her the way you did when you looked like Kanon that one time and Eirin will give you pointers."

"I'm not sure I follow?" Eirin said, looking up at the ceiling.

"Elsie here can look exactly like you using her scarf of magic. She can also make you invisible to keep you out of sight and while she takes up your job, you can tell her what to do."

"Oh, I see. What strange magic." Eirin said, intrigued.

"That does sound like a good idea, I guess." Elsie muttered.

"Well, then it's settled. We'll be back." Keima said, sliding the door open to leave.

After closing the sliding door, Eirin said something probably not knowing that the two already left. Keima opened the sliding door to say, "We're leaving for now, just rest."

The hallway seemed more empty and quiet than usual. The day had gone quite fast since they arrived that morning. It seemed that the loose soul had grown since Eirin had first started hosting it. Keima opened the sliding door to their room and unfolded the futons that lay in the back of the room. The room had seemed quite homey, as it did resemble the inns that Elsie mentioned earlier. Elsie got into her futon with a look of worriment on her face. What would being a nurse to a giant population of rabbits be like and what would it entail? What if she messed up? All sorts of questions and worst case scenarios raced through her mind.

"Nii-sama, I'm worried. Usually the spirits don't do things like this. They only make the host appear different physically, and I've never seen a spirit do something like make their host blind." Elsie said.

"Yes. This does make the conquest harder, but once that soul is out, she won't be blind anymore. All the more reason to conquer her faster."

"I guess. Nii-sama, are you worried?" Elsie said, knowing what the answer was already.

"No. I'm confident enough to know that she'll be alright if all goes according to plan. I won't let her stay blind. It's best not to think about it now, just rest and we'll continue this tomorrow." Keima said, turning over in his futon away from Elsie.

"Okay, Nii-sama. I trust you." Elsie said, feeling better about the whole predicament. Her Nii-sama said he was going to make things better and she knew he was. His word was to be trusted, she had learned over the time she lived with Keima.

...

Morning came soon after. The sun bled through the walls and upper windows of the room, showing the dust that flew through the sunlight. Birds were singing, and the all-too-familiar sound of rhythmic hammering was heart outside accompanied by singing. Keima had gotten up before Elsie to check on Eirin. He walked down the hallway toward Eirin's office, where the hammering became louder. He wondered how Eirin put up with the noise. As Keima approached the office, he noticed Kaguya standing outside.

"Eirin, may I come in?" Kaguya asked politely, raising her voice so to be heard through the door.

"I'm sorry, Lady Kaguya. I'm on break today." Eirin said, her voice sounded obviously nervous.

Keima hid by the wall before the turn in the hallway to Eirin's office.

"Break? You never go on break! Are you feeling well, Eirin?"

"Yes. I am fine. I just need some time alone for now."

"That's fine, I suppose. I'll be in my quarters if you need me. Feel better." Kaguya said, turning to leave the other way.

Keima waited until Kaguya was out of sight before emerging from his hiding spot. He walked up to Eirin's door and knocked softly.

"Eirin? It's me, Keima."

"Oh, yes. Please come in. Make sure no one else see's you." Eirin's voice sounded relieved.

Keima opened the door and entered.

Kaguya stood at the end of the hallway, not believing what she just saw. "_Eirin let him in, but not me?"_ She thought. "_There's something up here."_ Many thoughts raced through Kaguya's head. "_Are they... together? Is he going to hurt her? Is he the reason she needs alone time." _Whatever the situation was, Kaguya walked up to the office door, ready to get to the bottom of what was unfolding.

* * *

**OH CRAP! Kaguya saw something she wasn't supposed to see! This is bad news. How will this pan out?**

**Hope you enjoyed. See you next chapter.**


	8. Nursing

**Oh man, oh man, OH MAN! Someone saw something they weren't suppose to see. Will Keima feel the wrath of Kaguya? Back to the conquest already in progress.  
**

* * *

Keima walked into Eirin's office after invited in. Upon first glance, the room seem tidied up from last time. How did she manage that? Keima then saw the glass piles pushed off to the corner of the room, as if trying to hide it. Eirin lay on her bed, staring up into the ceiling. There wasn't really anything to look at, she _was _blind after all. Tear streaks lined her face.

"Hello, Keima-san..." Eirin said quietly, trying not to make too much noise.

"Hello. Any change?" Keima asked.

"No, I still see grey. It's rather calming, I won't lie, but scary. How are you enjoying your stay here?" Eirin asked, wanting to change the subject.

"I'm enjoying it here. Very nice. It reminds me of the inns back at home." Keima said.

"Home? Where are you from, might I ask?" Might Eirin reject Keima like Reimu did if he tells her where he's from?

Taking the risk, Keima says "I'm from the outside world. A place called Maijima."

"Outside world? My, my... How did you make it to Gensokyo?" Eirin asked.

"Well, it's a complicated story. You might not believe me if I told you."

Eirin chuckled at this, her laugh very quiet. "I trust you already with this, Keima-san. I think I would believe you if you told me."

"Well, if you really want to know. I got here through a portal from a game. Namely, a video game."

"A video game?" Eirin sounded interested. "You play those too?"

"Yes, I beat it and then everything went white and I ended up here."

"Interesting. Sounds like quite the incident."

"A girl named Reimu used the same word too."

"Well, it's common lingo in Gensokyo. An incident is when some anomaly appears or a strange event happens in Gensokyo. It's usually up the Reimu to keep the peace, though no one really assigned her the specific job of doing so."

"I see-"

A slam was heard behind Keima. The sliding door open, Kaguya stood at the doorway, then marched toward Keima and landed a clean punch on his face, hard enough to send him flying with smoke coming off of his face. The look of anger on Kaguya's face looked like that of a murderer.

"I knew it! You're the reason why Eirin is acting weird. You're a new incident!" Kaguya yelled.

"Who... knew a girl so frail looking.. could be so strong..." Keima twitched in pain.

"Miss Eirin, tell me, what did he do?" Kaguya demanded.

Eirin looked complete confused, unable to process the scene visually.

"He didn't do anything, Lady Kaguya! He just came to visit me, is all!"

"Of course! You see, it shouldn't come as a surprise that..." Keima stood up. Eirin and I are lovers!"

A look of shock took over both Kaguya and Eirin's face.

"Isn't it normal for lovers to visit each other when sick?" Keima tried desperately to convince Kaguya.

"Miss Eirin, is... is this true?" Kaguya said, her head facing the floor.

"I- Wha-" Eirin could find no words. The sudden claim that the two were lovers dumbfounded her.

"But of course, we have been for quite a while!" Keima said.

"But you just got here... There's no way-"

"I've visited many times! I just never-"

"I know you're lying. You introduced you and your sister to both of us when you got here." Kaguya said, getting increasingly quieter.

"Lady Kaguya, this is true. We are... lovers." Eirin said, playing along with Keima's plan.

"Huh?" Kaguya was shocked. "How long?"

"Well, what Keima-_kun_ said at first was a lie. I-it was more of a love at first sight, when he got here." Eirin blushed a crimson red, as if she were going to explode.

"I see... So I was wrong. You two are lovers." Then Kaguya had a look of mischief on her face. "Prove it."

"Lady Kaguya! I couldn't possibly-" Eirin became uncontrollably flustered. "It wouldn't be proper!"

_Ah, so she's that kind of woman. _Thought Keima. _No matter. This is the perfect opportunity. The loose soul may come out if I can get her to kiss me! This conquest may have taken shorter than I thought!_

"Prove it, or it's not true." Kaguya said.

Eirin tried her best to compose herself. "K-Keima-kun, come here." Was she taking the initiative?

Keima walked up, blushing. This is it. He wondered if Elsie would see the loose soul in time, or if she's even awake for that matter. Eirin reached out, at first grabbing Keima's nose then inching down toward his chin. Turning his face, she planted a small peck on Keima's cheek then hugged him to whisper, "_You have a lot of explaining to do." _

"So it is true," Kaguya said, shocked and impressed at the same time. "Miss Eirin has finally found herself a man. I am very happy to hear this AND see it too!"

"W-why, of course." Eirin trembled from the kiss.

"I am sorry to have bothered you, Miss Eirin. I shall take my leave." Kaguya said, turning toward the door before stopping. "Oh, and Keima-san... Hurt Eirin, I'll hurt you." Then she walked out the door, then slid it closed.

_I didn't see the spirit leave her. Could it be that she didn't have the gap in her heart filled?_

"Keima," Eirin said. "Why?"

Keima could see her crying, the tears hitting the bed. "Was it really that bad?" Keima wondered. Eirin turned over on the bed, sobbing. Keima had felt like he deprived her of her purity. Was that the reason why she was crying?

"That... was my first kiss. Was that really necessary, Keima-san?"

"Of course. It was the only thing that could've made sense to anyone."

"I suppose. Does this mean... We have to, you know, pretend to be lovers?" Eirin asked. Keima swore there was a hint of eagerness in her voice.

"Why do you want to?"

"I suppose if we must." Eirin said, turning over once more away from Keima.

"Very well. It would be best to continue pretending. I should go and you should rest," Keima turned around to leave before stopping. "Are you sure you can't think of anyone who could help with your eyes?"

"I... can't really think of anyone, no," All of a sudden, Eirin's eyes opened wide. "As a matter of fact, I do know someone who could help!"

"That was... fast."

"Reimu-san should be able to help with this!" Eirin smiled. "I can't believe I didn't think of it before! She could exorcise the blindness out of me! "

"Reimu?"

_"If I go there, my stay here will end and so will the conquest. I can't let her go there." _Thought Keima. "_It'd be best to make her stay here."_

"Eirin-san, if I may be honest," Keima said. "I'd rather nurse you back to health myself. Besides, Reimu is skilled in dealing with exorcising evil spirits, not blindness."

Eirin blushed a bright red. "Nurse me back to health yourself? You would do that for me? All I've done is cause you trouble! I suppose you're right about Reimu, but you shouldn't force yourself to take care of me."

"I don't mind. But we would have to be elsewhere because Elsie will be in here covering for you. Our room should be safe enough."

Blushing an even brighter red, Eirin said. "Your room? Surely there is another place we could- It wouldn't be-"

"There's really no other place if you think about it."

Eirin thought about it. There really was no other place to hide. The rabbits would find her, and she'd have to explain her blindness. After all, to her, a nurse that couldn't heal herself was not a nurse worth his/her salt. Eirin agreed, hoping that she made the right decision. She hesitantly offered her hand to have Keima lead her down the hallway. Eirin took small shuffles, being careful not to trip. Keima's grasp was gentle, but also showing no hint of letting go. Finally, the two reached the bed room, and Keima opened the sliding door, and lead Eirin inside before letting go to lay down a futon. Elsie was nowhere to be found. She was probably looking around, getting acquainted with her temporary living quarters.  
Eirin lay down on the still-warm futon. Eirin had never been taken care of before. It felt... odd. It's always been her job to care for the sick and disabled, and now the tables have turned. The futon was still fluffy, like no one had slept on it. The smell of the room was particularly strong. Maybe her senses of touch and smell were heightening due to her loss of sight. Keima walked around moving things to make more room for Eirin. She could hear even the smallest of noises, from the leaves rustling, to the loud hammering outside.

"Keima-san, I never took you for the caring kind. You looked rather cold when you came here." Eirin said.

"Well, I arrived after Elsie and I were shot at. It's natural for people to look cold after such an event. As for caring, I've cared for my mother and Elsie when they were sick. It's not unfamiliar territory." Keima said, moving the kotatsu over.

"I see. You're a rather nice boy. No, man." Eirin smiled, facing the ceiling.

Keima said nothing, it's not often he's complimented for doing something right. This was unfamiliar territory.

"I can tell you're privy to compliments." Eirin chuckled. "Forgive me."

Keima was quiet for the remaining time he move objects out of the way until saying "I guess so."

"Keima, tell me more about that video game and how it got you here."

"I had just got that game and went home to play it. After I beat it, the game stopped and then my console started to flash, I was unconscious, if memory serves me right, and when I woke up, I was in Reimu's shrine." Keima said. "That's pretty much all that happened."

"My, quite the story to tell your family when you get home." Eirin chuckled, this time quieter.

"Hmph. Let me check your temperature." Keima said, wanting to change the subject. He put his hand over her forehead to see if she was heating up, which he knew she was not. Eirin then lay her hand on top of his hand.

"Thank you, Keima-san." Eirin said, as she yawned and her eyes fluttered. "I never really did sleep last night."

"It would probably be a good idea to sleep. I'll leave you be." Keima blushed from the earlier contact.

_"This is good," _Keima thought. _"I'm making progress. I'm sure the soul didn't come out earlier because the gap hasn't been filled. There's something I'm missing though. She had the loose soul before she went blind. The blindness isn't the cause of the gap... What is?"_

"Eirin, is there anythi-" Eirin breathed softly. She was deep in sleep. Keima unfolded a futon. There wasn't much to do but to keep watch for the door. Sleep seemed like the best thing to do at that time. It would be a while before Eirin woke up.

* * *

**So the loose soul didn't come out as planned. Also, the blindness seems not to be the reason of the gap in her heart. What could it be? Next chapter, the climax.**

**Review, if you could. I could always use tips on how to write! See you next chapter.**


	9. It's Me

**Eirin seems to be opening up to Keima, but this doesn't mean it's smooth sailing from here. What's the reason for the gap inside Eirin? Back to the conquest, already in progress.**

* * *

By the time Keima woke up, two things were clear. It was night time, and Eirin was still asleep. Did he really sleep through the whole day? It seemed the whole situation of landing in Gensokyo took its toll on Keima, as he had grown increasingly tired since he arrived. Elsie was also sleeping near the door by Eirin. She must've come in tired from taking up Eirin's job. Tomorrow was the day of the Moon Festival, and Keima had just wasted a day of conquest by sleeping. While Eirin did seem to open up to Keima, he still didn't know the cause of her gap. Tomorrow would have to be the day he found out, or risk leaving Eientei without conquering Eirin.

Keima lay back down, trying to go back to sleep. He wondered how his mother is doing, and whether or not this land is following the same time as Maijima City. Explaining the situation to his mother would be rather hard, though he could pass it off as going to an overnight reveal of a game as he had done many times before. Would Reimu help bring Keima back to his home, Keima wondered. After all, she did create the barrier between Maijima and Gensokyo she said. Getting home, however, was not the number one thing in Keima's mind. First, he'd have to capture all the loose souls in Gensokyo. How did they get in here anyway? Isn't Gensokyo the setting in a video game? It didn't make logical sense.

...

Morning came faster than expected as Keima opened his eyes as soon as he closed them, or so he thought. Keima reluctantly got up to rouse Elsie and Eirin from their sleep. Elsie got up with little resistance, though Eirin reacted as she were being attacked when Keima touched her to shake her awake.

"Sorry," Keima said. "I had no idea you were such a light sleeper."

"No, it's fine. I just had a nightmare is all." Eirin let out a false smile.

"Well, we should get ready. The Moon Festival is today, isn't it?"

"What?! It is? Oh no... IT IS!" Eirin tried to get up but quickly tripped.

"Eirin, it's fine. We'll just play it off. No one will know about your eyes." Keima said.

"It's not that simple! People will see how weird I walk and it'll be obvious!" Eirin started to tear up again.

"Not if you're close to me. I'll keep you balanced, and it'll just look like we have a... thing."

"WE DON'T HAVE A THING!" Eirin screamed. The room grew silent as Keima and Elsie stared at Eirin. Eirin covered her mouth, shocked at what she just did. "I'm sorry..." Eirin said, before running off into the hallway.

"Nii-sama, Eirin seemed really troubled just now." Elsie said.

"Elsie. I can see it. I can see why she may have that gap in her heart. I can see the ending." Keima pushed up his glasses.

"What? You can? How?" Elsie asked, shocked at the sudden revelation.

"Eirin just reacted as though she had a 'thing' with someone before. I've seen it before... in games," Keima said. "The girls usually react the same way she did when they're reminded of a previous relationship."

"I see... And you think Eirin had a previous relationship?" Elsie asked.

"It's too early to know for sure but I have good reason to think why she would," Keima said. "Anyway, we should get ready for the festival. What time does it start?"

"It starts at dusk, so we have a while to go." Elsie said.

"Perfect. I'll try to gain Eirin's trust back in that time."

"Oh, you're leaving?"

"Yes. I'll be back to get ready."

"Okay, good luck then!" Elsie waved

...

Eirin ran as far as she could, down the hallway. She knew the hallway had to come to an end eventually, and she would crash through the wall if she ran too fast. She did something wrong, something she's never done before. She screamed at someone. She screamed at the only person she trusted with her secret of being blind. It was unforgivable, and she knew Keima would hate her for it. All of a sudden, a hand grabbed her arm. It didn't take a genius to know who it was.

"Just stop." Keima said. "Running away does nothing."

"I'm sorry Keima... It's just... You remind me of someone. I yelled at you, when I shouldn't have and I did that same exact thing to someone else."

"Don't worry about that. I'm over it, and you should be too." It's was funny to Keima. He had said the same thing to Marisa.

"It's not that easy to forgive, Keima-san." Eirin turned around to face Keima.

"Then how about going with me to the Festival to make up for it?" Keima asked slyly

Eirin blushed a light pink, "What? W-we can't! People will get the wrong idea!

"I never took you for the flustered kind." Keima said.

"I-I'm not! It's just that I've always gone with Lady Kaguya to accompany her!" Eirin said, covering her face.

"Well, she thinks we're a couple so she shouldn't be too bothered, don't you think?"

"I guess..." Eirin said, then looked up to where she thought Keima's head would be. "Keima-san, do you like me?"

Keima had to lie for the sake of the conquest. Even though she technically was one of those video game girls he likes so much, the fact that they're so close to humans was a turn-off.

"Yes, I do." Keima said.

"Why?"

"Well, you're a very nice person. Not to mention you're pretty and mature and TALL." Keima ranted.

"O-okay okay! I get it." Eirin hid her face back in her hands. "I'll go with you."

"Then I'll see you tonight." Keima said.

"Wait, can you get Elsie to help me with my yukata?" Eirin asked.

"Oh, yes. I'll ask her. I'm sure she'll say yes."

"Okay, then. If you would be so kind as to walk me to my office?"

"Sure." Keima took Eirin's arm to direct her down the hall to her office.

"I'll see you tonight, Keima-san." Eirin said in front of her office door, with a calm and eager tone.

"And I you."

...

The time came for the preparations of the Moon Festival to start. There was to be many stands open for food and games. Many humans from the supposed Human Village came to partake in the festivities.

"_Must be their take on Tanabata." _Keima thought, putting on his dark blue yukata supplied to him by none other than the closet.

A knock came from the door, "Nii-sama, I finished helping Eirin get ready."

"Good. Come in." Keima said, finishing dressing.

Elsie slid the door open and entered. "So, todays the day." Elsie smiled.

"Yeah," Keima said. "Today's the day. It must be me, but this conquest went so... easily. Besides the blindness, I don't think I've ever had a conquest this easy."

"Well, there still might be some problems. We just have to hope that it's the loose soul causing the blindness."

"If it helps, I found out the real reason why she has a gap." Keima crossed his arms in thought. "I think."

"You did? What is it?"

"Well, Eirin said I reminded her of someone. I have reason to believe she liked someone once upon a time and it didn't work out."

"She said that?" Elsie asked, surprised. "Wow, Eirin seemed so independent. I didn't think she had any love interests. Though she did say something when I helped her with her yukata."

"She did?" asked Keima.

"Oh, just the normal stuff. She liked you, and all that. She wanted me to keep it a secret but..."

"Wow, what a great secret keeper you are."

"Nii-sama, I think you made quite a change in Eirin's life. Even if you only knew her for 2 days. She seems happier. Happier than when we first arrived."

"It's that obvious, huh?"

"Yes. I'd expect no less from you, though. "

"Hmph. Whatever. Come, it's time to go." Keima said, walking to the door.

"Okay, I'll be around. Good luck, Nii-sama."

"You're not coming?" Keima asked.

"I'll stay out of your way. You just work your magic."

"Right. See you later then."

"Good luck, Nii-sama. You can do it!"

...

Keima saw Eirin waiting outside her office, looking at the wall across the hall from her. If she was hiding the fact that she was blind as a bat, she wasn't doing an overall great job at it. Eirin heard the footsteps of Keima, and looked toward him.

"Keima?" Eirin asked. "Is that you?"

"Yes. It's me."

"Were it not for my blindness, I would say you look very handsome tonight." Eirin smiled.

"Th-thanks."

Eirin chuckled, "I remember you're not that good with compliments. I'll just try and contain myself."

"No, it's fine."

"If you say so," Eirin extended her hand. "If you're ready, shall we go?"

Keima took her hand, to which Eirin replied by swiftly grabbing his arm. She hugged the arm close. Keima was not sure whether or not this was for extra balance, or something else. Eirin's soft dark blue yukata rubbed against Keima's arm.

"So we don't get separated," Eirin whispered.

_"This is going almost too easily," _Keima thought. _"There's something off about her."_

"D-don't get so close!" Keima winced.

"Keima-san, are you by any chance embarrassed of being with me too?" Eirin teased.

"Let's just go!" Keima said.

"Yes. Let's." Eirin hugged Keima's arm tighter now that they were walking.

Keima opened the sliding door leading outside. The sight was as jubilant as any other festival. People eating and playing. Stereotypical festival activities. Keima wondered how humans even made it to Eientei, seeing as though they have that labyrinth of a bamboo forest to navigate past.

"Careful, there's a step." Keima warned, helping Eirin down the step.

"Thank you." Eirin said, before taking Keima's hand and slowly stepping down.

Making their way to the heart of the festival, humans and rabbits alike whispered amongst each other at the scene they were beholding.

_"Woah, does the nurse have a lover?"_

_"Didn't think Lady Eirin would get that far with anybody..."_

_"They're really... close."_

"What do you want to do first?" Keima asked.

"Well, as the man, I say you choose first."

"Very well, how about the..." Keima looked around for anything Eirin could do.

There wasn't much, if anything. The fish-poi game actually had you looking at the fish in order to catch them. The balloon game involved sight too. Everything involved something with the eyes.

"It's okay. This is nice. Just us two." Eirin said.

"Well, it has to be the Moon Festival of all things that involves games and other things involving sight." Keima said.

"Yes, it appears that way. Can you take me over to the wishing bamboo?"

Keima was certain this was Tanabata.

The two arrived at a bamboo stalk with crowds of people around it. Tags with different sorts of colors were taped onto the stalk and a table next to it gave tags to anyone, should they want to make a wish. Keima picked out two blue tags and gave one tag and a pencil to Eirin.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot." Keima said.

"Oh, Keima-san. You underestimate me! I can still write. I hope." Eirin said before writing down a wish on her tag. "There! Done!"

"Me too." Keima then got both wishes and tied them to the stalk.

"Hey, Keima." Eirin asked with an uneasy tone in her voice.

"What?"

"Can we go somewhere more... secluded?"

_"She keeps taking the initiative. Man, this is annoying."_ Thought Keima.

"Sure." Keima lead toward a small break in the brush, where no one could see or expect anyone to be there.

The festival was still visible through the brush. It was surprising, the amount of humans and other girls that partook in the festivities.

"Keima-san." Eirin interrupted Keima's train of thought.

"Me first." Keima said suddenly.

"Huh?" Eirin was confused.

"Why are you acting so weird?" asked Keima. "This isn't like you."

"Isn't like me? What are you talking about?" Eirin asked.

"You keep... taking the initiative. You keep raising flags! It's throwing me off!" Keima said, annoyed. "Something is bothering you. I know it."

Eirin stood silent for a while, before saying, "You're right."

"I am?" Keima asked, surprised his hunch was right.

"Yes." Eirin's head looked down. "You remind me of an old friend I used to have. A friend that I loved."

"What happened to him?" asked Keima.

"Well, he died. In a war, up on the moon." Eirin's voice started to crack. "He was injured and taken to me, and there was nothing I could do to save him. I just saw him dying. He said nothing as he died. I blamed myself for it every day."

Keima was silent. Here she was, talking about something so personal to the only one person she trusted. All those times she acted strange. It wasn't that she was acting strange. It was because she was acting how she would around this friend of hers.

"And I remind you of him?" Keima asked.

"Yes. Very much so." Eirin said softly.

"Then let me be his replacement." Keima said. "I'll be there for you."

Eirin looked up, tears in her eyes. "Keima-san..."

"I'm not saying I'll be as good as him, but I can sure try." Keima grabbed Eirin by her shoulders.

"Keima-san, I couldn't possibly..."

"Eirin, I want to try." Keima leaned his face closer. "Just let me try."

Eirin inched her face closer to Keima's, before saying "_Yes." _and leaning in for a kiss. The blue loose soul was pushed out of Eirin and cried, trying to fly away into the night sky. Elsie looked up and saw the blue soul heading higher into the sky. She found a spot to fly away from then pulled out a Containment Bottle and sucked the loose soul into custody. That was it, the conquest was over.

...

_"Lady Eirin, please wake up. The festival is over!"_

Eirin woke up with a slight headache.

"Lady Eirin, everything has been cleaned up, as per your orders." a Rabbit Girl said.

"Ah, did I order that? Sorry, I must've forgotten."

"Yeah, that Keima boy told us."

"Who?"

"The visitor who was shot down from the sky."

"Oh, right." Eirin said, pretending to know what the Rabbit was talking about.

"If that is all, I shall take my leave." The Rabbit said, bowing.

"Yes, thank you."

Eirin walked out to the the middle of the courtyard. The festival must've gone by fast, for it was already the crack of dawn. Remnants of the party could still be seen with the occasional deflated balloon and stick for food here and there. Then, something caught Eirins eye. A bamboo stalk. Many wishes, at least 30 of them, were taped onto the stalks. Then another thing caught her eye: her signature in poor handwriting. She took the tag that had her barely legible signature.

_I wish for love. -Eirin_

"Love... I must've been rather intoxicated when I wrote that. I'm much too old for those kinds of things." Eirin said, speaking aloud to herself.. Eirin then closed the tag and held onto it. She opened the door to the hallways and entered her office which looked like a tornado had passed by.

"REALLY intoxicated..." Eirin said, getting into her bed and closing her eyes. She let a single exhale out before going to sleep, sleep that she felt she hadn't had for days.

* * *

**And thus, the Eirin arc is complete. Whew, what a conquest! Now that Eirin's loose soul has been ousted, it's time to talk to Reimu about the barrier and how to get back home!**

**Next chapter, Home?**

**Leave a review, advice (which I could really use!), or just words of encouragement, if you fancy! See you next chapter!**


	10. The Truth

**Another loose soul in the bag. Now that the conquest of Eirin went more or less as planned, it's time to go to the shrine and find out about how to get out of Gensokyo.**

* * *

"Man, these directions are vague." Said Keima, trying to make heads or tails out of the map directing to go to the Hakurei Shrine. At some points, it would say make a left/right too early, when the left/right is farther ahead.

"Nii-sama... Why'd we wake up so early?" Elsie groaned. The first hint of light came from the mountains, as it was early in the morning.

"We can't afford for them to remind Eirin of me and her. Different questions will be asked if we leave suddenly."

"I guess you're right." Elsie yawned. "Do you think Reimu-san will be awake when we arrive?"

"Doubtful. If we get there too early, you can sleep a little longer."

"On the ground?" Elsie complained. "Nii-sama, you're so mean...'

The bamboo slowly started to disappear. Sky became more visible, and first light peaked through the back of the mountains. The path was still heavy with vegetation, such as trees and vines. Soon, the torii gates of the Hakurei Shrine was be seen above the trees.

"Come on, we're almost there." Keima said.

"Do you think it's safe to fly?" Elsie asked.

"I don't see why not." Keima said, still remembering last time. "Fly low this time, though."

"Okay!" Elsie commanded her hagoromo to coil around Keima's body. After safety checks, she took to the sky. Flying too low, Keima was whipped by the branches down below.

"Higher! Hi- oof!"

"Sorry! Are you okay?" Elsie said, not look ahead. The torii gates were closer than they had though, as Elsie crashed into the right pole of them. The two fell a short distance from the air onto the ground.

"Elsie, next time watch where you're going, you stupid demon..." Keima muffled, face on the ground.

"Sorry, Nii-sama." Elsie muffled, also with her face on the ground.

After brushing off the dirt, Keima walked up to the doors and knocked. No noise was heard at first from inside. Another 3 knocks, still no movement or noise. After a final 3 knocks, the doors slid open and an exasperated Reimu yelled:

"What the hell do you want?!"

"We need to talk to you about something important."

"You two! I thought you guys left by now!" Reimu said, rubbing her eyes. "Marisa said you bailed after a while."

"Well, that's true." Keima said. "We were trying to come here until we flew over a bamboo thicket and we were shot at. We made a quick pit stop at Eientei."

"You flew? Are you stupid? Unless you wanna risk your life, you don't fly around here." Reimu scolded.

"Yes, we know that now." Keima said, trying to ignore that that's how he got here in the first place.

"Anyway, whaddya want? I'm losing precious sleep time."

"Well, may we come in and talk about it. It may take a while."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure. Come in." Reimu said, walking inside.

"Want some sake? It's pretty early in the morning for it, but if you want some..." Reimu said, taking out 3 small dishes and a porcelain bottle. She poured some sake on one dish for herself.

"No, thank you." Keima said.

"Anyway, what's this 'important' thing you need to talk about?"

"Well, to put it bluntly, we need to get back home. We need to get past that barrier of yours back to our hometown."

"Oh, right. Outsiders and all." Reimu rubbed her forehead. "Well, sorry to say, it's not that easy."

"What do you mean?"

"Preventing people from getting IN is the only fault in the barrier. Getting out is difficult. Only a few people can do it."

"Can you show us to those people?"

"I could, but I doubt they'd be of much help. They can get themselves out, they can't get you out." Reimu sipped from her sake dish.

"So, what you mean to say is... we're stuck here."

"If you want to put it like that, yes." Reimu said.

"B-but isn't there any way?" Elsie asked.

"There is Yukari but she's not one to be trusted with strangers." Reimu said.

"Please introduce her to us. We need to get home." Keima said.

"I don't control when she comes here or not. She lives in the gap, and there's no real way to get there without her."

Keima and Elsie started to show their desperation. Elsie started to tear, fearing she may never get back home. Keima started to raise his voice with each sentence. There was no real way of getting home.

"Fine. It looks like we're staying here then." Keima said, defeated. "If that's the case, I have another important thing."

"And that'd be?" Reimu asked, pouring more sake into her dish.

"Have you noticed anything wrong with the girls of Gensokyo?"

Reimu's face turned to stone with seriousness. "Why?"

"Well, Elsie and I are exorcists of a sort. We exorcise spirits out of the bodies of girls with a gap in their heart, so to speak."

"Nii-sama!" Elsie was shocked. "She didn't need to know!"

"Gap in their hearts? Girls? Great, another pervert." Reimu relaxed.

"That's not what I mean. I mean, in my world, when a certain girl has a sort of problem, a gap forms in the heart. This gap can house spirits called Loose Souls. There are many ways to oust these spirits, though my method is the fastest way."

"And that method is..?"

"By making then fall in love." Keima said.

Reimu spit out her sake. "PFFT! Love?! Man, you really are weird!"

"I'm serious." Keima stared at Reimu coldly.

"Okay, okay. Geez, lighten up. If you heard that for the first time, you'd be skeptical too." Reimu said. "Anyway, about those problems with the girls: Yes. I have seen problems. It first started out with Marisa. She was acting sad and not like herself."

"I took out the spirit in her. She should be fine now."

"Huh, you got Marisa to fall in love with you? I never thought that'd happen. Why aren't you with her now?"

"After the spirit is taken out, the girl forgets all memories up until the spirit first came in. Sometimes, they forget a little less."

"Okay, I guess that's convenient in the long run." Reimu sipped the last of her sake from the dish. "So, pretty much what you're saying is that runaway spirits somehow ended up from your world into ours."

"Yes, a group in our hometown called Vintage tried to release a bunch of them into the world. We stopped them in time. I have reason to believe they found their way into here."

"There's no way that's possible. The barrier blocks all youkai from getting in and getting out. Most of the time." Reimu said.

"Yes, unless there was someone from the inside bringing them in. That's why I feel that third party can also get us out."

Reimu stood silent. It made sense, there must be someone bringing them in and be able to bring Keima and Elsie out. It didn't take long to know who would be devious enough to bring these souls in.

"Yukari." Reimu said, eyes stone cold. "Yukari is bringing them in. She's the only possibly candidate of doing something like this."

"So, Yukari is working with Vintage..." Elsie said. "Nii-sama, how are we going to get Yukari to take us out of here if she's working against us?"

"That's the problem. For now, we have to contain all the souls let loose in Gensokyo. It'd be the only easy way to weaken Vintage's Gensokyo branch."

"How are you gonna know if a girl has a soul in her?" Reimu asked.

Keima chuckled and then pushed up his glasses. "Using Elsie's beret, of course. It sounds an alarm when a loose soul is in the vicinity."

"Huh... handy." Reimu said, unamused.

"Back to the problem at hand, do you know any girls with problems? Girls not acting like themselves?" asked Keima.

"Well, yeah," Reimu said, tapping her chin. "I do. Eirin-"

"We conquered Eirin too." Keima added in.

"Can you not use the word conquer? You sound like a confident asshole." Reimu said, annoyed.

"Sorry. We ousted Eirin's loose soul, too." Keima corrected himself.

"Well, did you exorcise Keine-san?" Reimu asked.

"No. We haven't."

"Well, if I had to choose, the one who acted the weirdest was Keine. She was acting all depressed and stuff."

"Where would we be able to located her?" Keima asked.

"Well, she's a teacher in the Human Village. Getting her away from teaching is gonna be the difficult part. She loves those kids, y'know." Reimu said.

"It's okay, I've dealt with teachers before." Keima said proudly. "Any other girls that have been acting weird?"

"Uh, just one more. Sakuya. Last she came here, she was all gloomy and stuff. But that might be because of work and stuff."

"Nevertheless, I'll check her out."

"Man, it feels good to have someone doing my work for me. For once, I can finally relax during an incident." Reimu lay down on the floor, exhaling heavily.

"Well, rest assured, we'll solve this 'incident'. All you have to do is tell us if you find something off with one of the girls."

"Sounds fair enough." Reimu said.

"And before we go, can you tell us where Sakuya lives or where the Human Village is?" Keima asked.

"Right, right. You wouldn't get far if you don't know where things are located. Since you already were at the Forest of Magic, follow the path down the stairs of the shrine. Just keep following the path and don't make any turns. Eventually, a sign for the Forest of Magic should pop up. Go a little further, and you should be at the human village." Reimu said.

"Uh, so just keep following the path?" Keima asked.

"Yep. I must warn you though, Keine can be a very dangerous person. It's best not to mess with her at night."

"Right. I'll... keep that in mind." Keima opened the shoji door and said. "If that is all, we're leaving."

"Yep. You're good to go. Good luck and all that." Reimu waved, still on the floor.

"Goodbye, miss Reimu!" Elsie bowed.

"Yeah, bye."

...

Sure enough, down the stairs was a dirt path surrounded by trees and all types of vegetation. Trees, long grass, vines, moss, and everything else. Like the Bamboo Forest, the trees blocked out the sky and light weakly came through small holes in between leaves. The beginning of the path stretched out as far as the eye could see, until the path went dark.

"We have a ways to walk." Keima said.

"We could fly there..." Elsie added.

Right, Keima had forgotten Elsie could fly. They could probably spot the Human Village from the sky.

"Right, then let's go."

Elsie wrapped her hagoromo around Keima's torso, as was custom when flying. Taking to the sky, all that could be seen was trees for miles. Walking would've taken days to get to where they needed to go. After about 20 minutes of flying, a small hut could be seen, then another hut, and then another. The little town was bustling with people, and kids running around.

"Must be the Human Village, huh?" Elsie stared.

"I would say so. Let's go down." Keima pointed downward.

No one saw the two fly down, which was good. They might have freaked out had they seen someone fly down. People were just starting to open up stalls for food and other goods. They must have opened rather early, because the morning light still had yet to show fully. A man was walking casually toward Keima and Elsie.

Keima stopped the man and asked, "Excuse me, do you know where Keine is?"

"Kamishirasawa-sensei? She'll be down by the end of the stalls, you can't miss it.

"Thanks" Keima waved.

"Wow, Nii-sama. It's like old Japan here." Elsie said as she walked toward the end of the street.

"Elsie, look." Keima pointed to a sign that read, 'Village Schoolhouse.' "This is it."

"Ohhh... Should we go in?" Elsie asked.

"I don't see why not. School wouldn't start for a while, don't you think?" Keima said, walking toward the door.

The door opened without any resistance of a lock. Inside was dark, save for a candlelight at the end of the hall. A shadow showed at the wall. Was this the Keine Reimu talked about?

* * *

**Hmmm... Home doesn't seem like it'll happen! But now, after getting some news from Reimu, finding girls with gaps in their hearts should get easier. Capturing all the spirits will foil the plans of Vintage/Yukari.**

**Review, words of advice, words of encouragement. It's all appreciated!**


	11. A, B, C's

**After a brief flight to the Human Village, (which would have been long if walked to.) Keima and Elsie got to the schoolhouse where a girl who was reported by Reimu to have been acting strangely taught. While this may only be a hunch from Reimu's part, it's in Keima and Elsie's best interest to check it out! Back to the event!**

* * *

**"You weren't supposed..."**

**"What?"**

**"You weren't supposed to... see me."**

**"..."**

**"I can't let you live having seen me. I'll have to take care of you."**

**"..."**

**"Sorry, Keima-kun."**

**"W-wait!"**

**...**

* * *

_Hours Earlier._

* * *

The darkness of the schoolhouse accentuated the faint shadow coming from the inside of the room. The shadow was tall, with a big head moving left and right. After a few seconds, the candle died down and the shafts of light came through all the doors.

"_Nii-sama... I don't think we should be here."_ Elsie said.

_"I agree. Let's wait outside." _Keima opened the door carefully, still facing down the hallway.

Closing the door to the schoolhouse, Elsie said, "Nii-sama. Was that Keine?"

"I would think so."

"She's a... big girl." Elsie said.

"Yeah... So it seemed." Keima said again.

Minutes passed, then hours. It seemed school started later than Maijima in the Human Village, for it was the afternoon when kids started to open the door to the schoolhouse.

"Damn, she never came out." Keima said. "Looks like we'll have to wait until school is over."

Elsie sighed, "Kami Nii-sama, do you think Keine has a loose soul in her?"

"Well, I don't know. It wouldn't hurt to check to see."

The day went by slowly. Keima and Elsie walked around the human village to pass the time, looking at windows of stores and vending stalls. Soon, the small roster of children poured out of the schoolhouse door and a tall white haired, not-fat woman waved them out.

"That's her." Keima pointed out. "Keine."

"Wow. Nii-sama, she's pretty!" Elsie said, mesmerized by Keine's beauty. "And not fat like we thought!"

Keima walked up to the door of the schoolhouse. Keine saw him walking up, and said, "Hello there, young sir. How may I help you?"

"Keine-san, I have been looking at you from afar. I would be honored if you would go on a date with me."

Keine was astonished by this man's sudden confession "B-beg pardon?" Keine said, trying to play the whole scene off.

"I think you heard me, loud and clear."

This man was serious. To Keine, it wasn't new to have men confess to her every so often. Each one she turned down. This man was different, however. No nonsense about his confession. No fear.

"I'm very glad you feel that way, mister, but I don't tend to be a romantic person. Not only that but I don't know you."

"Okay," Keima said, quickly turning away toward where Elsie was hiding. "Goodbye then."

_"Who was that just now? I don't think I've ever seen him here before... And his clothes are strange..." _Keine thought.

Back behind a food vending stall where Elsie watched the whole even unfold, Keima said, "I think that went rather smoothly."

"If I remember correctly, you did this for her to remember you?" Elsie asked.

"Correct. You learn well." Keima said, lightly patting Elsie's head.

Elsie giggled, "Oh, but Nii-sama, don't you have to be an equal to this girl like you were with Jun?"

"The only difference between Nagase-sensei and Keine is that one I was a student to, and the other I'm not. If you think about it, that's a world of a difference." Keima pointed out. "With Keine, I can't struggle to be her equal without being her student. I have to struggle by being her friend."

"Isn't it harder to be a teacher's friend though?"

"Allow me to teach you something useful : **TEACHER STUDENT FRIEND FRIEND!**

"That... made no sense."

"Yes, it did. A teacher and student are two different things, but a friend and a friend however are..?"

"The same thing! Wow, it makes sense now!" Elsie's eyes gleamed.

"Anyway, I need you to get close to her to see if she actually has a loose soul. The good thing about what I did is that if it turns out she doesn't have a loose soul, she won't be suspicious if I left after being rejected. Although, if it turns out she does have a loose soul, she'll expect me to be back and try to court her. Win win."

"Nii-sama, you really thought this out. It really is amazing," Elsie said. "Okay, I'll try and talk to her."

"Good. I'll be watching from here." Keima said, pointing to the ground.

Elsie walked up to the schoolhouse door. School for the children had ended rather early, as there is still sunlight in the air. Plenty of it. It must've been at least early afternoon. Knocking on the schoolhouse door, Keine opened the door quickly, as though she had been standing there the whole time. From Keima's perspective, Elsie was making small talk with Keine until...

**DORODORODORODORODORODORO**

Reimu's hunch was right. Keine does have a loose soul. Elsie pressed her beret as they both let out a high pitched yelp, to which she quickly laughed. She must've thought Elsie was set up by the neighborhood kids to scare Keine. Elsie waved goodbye to a surprised Keine, who was probably surprised Elsie was leaving so soon. Keine waved goodbye back and closed the door. Turning around, Elsie quickly ran toward the stall Keima was hiding behind.

"I think you heard, Nii-sama." Elsie said

"Yes, I did. It proved that Reimu was right about Keine. If memory serves me right, she said Keine was acting depressed or something." Keima rubbed his chin. "Elsie."

"Yes?" Elsie perked up.

"I need you to shape shift and become a kid."

"A kid? I don't know if my hagoromo can do that." Elsie said.

"Well, try. I need you to be a student."

"O-okay. Now?"

"Where else? I need you to be ready by tomorrow."

"Um, Nii-sama, speaking of tomorrow... Where are we going to sleep?"

That's right. Up until now, every conquest provided room and board. Sleeping in the Human Village should not be a problem, with the abundant amount of inns in the area, but they most likely all charged money. Sleeping would be a problem.

"Right. I didn't think about that." Keima sighed.

"I can try and counterfeit money, if it comes to that." Elsie said, obviously not wanting to.

"No, it's fine. Just focus on now, we'll worry about that later." Keima pointed at Elsie hagoromo, wanting her to change into a child.

"Fine, I get it." Elsie said, closing her eyes and pointing to herself to focus the hagoromo magic on her.

...

The day went by faster, as Elsie had tried again and again to shapeshift into a child. Eventually, she succeeded and turned into a child looking about 6. It was dusk by the time she finished, and the sun was setting quickly. Keima had stayed up the whole time watching Elsie change form, or lack thereof, and was exhausted. The two walked into the closest inn, just around the corner from their previous location. The inn owner welcomed the two with great emotion. Keima explained that the two are from out of town and did not carry money. The inn keeper still offered them a room, saying "it was an honor to have an out-of-towner at his inn."

The room the inn keeper gave the duo resembled the room in Eientei strongly. Futons on the floor, which may have been custom here to leave them on the floor, kotatsu in the middle, yukata in the closet, and sliding doors to separate sleepers. Elsie thanked the keeper profusely and the keeper patted the little Elsie on her head. She had forgotten she was still in her child form. The keeper excused himself and left the room with a wave an a smile. Keima took off his glasses and got in the futon.

"Man, I miss beds." Elsie said.

"We should go to sleep early. You have school tomorrow." Keima said.

"Right! Good night!" Elsie said, slamming herself down into the futon and covering herself.

Keima got up and turned off the light. After turning it off, he got back into the futon. About 5 minutes of silence passed before Keima said, "Elsie."

"Yes?" Elsie said, obviously half asleep.

"I'll get us home," Keima closed his eyes. "We'll see mother soon. I promise."

"I believe you, Nii-sama. Mostly because I don't have anything not to believe with you. You make the impossible happen." Elsie said.

"Th-thanks..." Keima turned around.

"Good night, Nii-sama. Wish me luck tomorrow." Elsie said, turning around also.

"Good luck." Keima said, before closing his eyes and going to sleep.

* * *

**A shorty! It turned out Reimu was right about Keine. She DOES have a loose soul. Keima already has experience in capturing a teacher, so should this be easy?**

**Thanks for everyone who supports the story. I try to write my best, even though writing is not my strong point. I hope to keep writing this story for a long time. Thanks again!**


	12. A Day with Elsie

**So, it seems Elsie will play a large role in the conquest of Keine Kamishirasawa. (Whew, what a mouthful!) Playing as a preschooler, Elsie will have to see if there's a problem with the way Keine acts. Finally, a story from the point of view of Elsie! This should be fun!**

**Warning : 1st person point of view incoming!**

* * *

Morning came as fast as day ended the night before. As soon as I closed my eyes, I opened them again. It's like I can't get any sleep anymore. Since coming to this place and realizing there's been a number of loose soul incidents around here, sleep has been a precious thing. The first thing I woke up to was a blinding light drafting through the high window. My eyesight was green for a while. It must've been on my eyes while I was sleeping.

Nii-sama was still asleep. I never realized until now how peaceful he looks. Like he doesn't have a single worry in the world. Only in reality does he have to deal with the capturing of loose souls and those bad organizations like Vintage. I got up quietly, as not to wake Nii-sama. School should start soon and I should use my hagoromo to turn into a kid. It's really weird, I knew my hagoromo could help me look like people, but not alter my age. After turning into my younger self, I put on a small yukata that was in the closet. If I'm going to school with them, I might as well dress like them. I slid the door open to leave before looking at Nii-sama one more time. I'm going to do my best in school and find out what the deal is with Keine.

...

School wasn't really hard to find, seeing as though we slept in an inn that was right around the corner from the schoolhouse. I came in with all the other kids, pushing and shoving to 'see the sweet Keine-sensei', as one kid said. It seems the school wasn't only reserved to humans but to strange girls with featherywings, antennae, and icicle wings. Maybe the humans weren't so concerned with these youkai, if they were youkai. We got inside, and everything reminded me of my earlier days in the teaching pit in Hell. Toys to play with in one room, and desks in the next room. In fact, this schoolhouse looked almost exactly like my old teaching pit! I guessed the first hour or so was used to vent out the energy built up in the kids by playing. Kids were playing all sorts of games left and right. Almost like a madhouse. It ended as soon as it started as Keine came in to bring all the kids in to the desk room.

We learned the history of Gensokyo. Actually, that's all we learned. We learned that Gensokyo was actually once run by youkai and that it was actually once a part of Japan. Youkai and humans had an on-and-off war until the Hakurei Border sealed off all that about 100 years ago. It's strange, the Hakurei Border has been around that long. It makes sense that the Border was weak enough to bring us in. What doesn't make sense is that it keeps us from getting out! Also, the Hakurei name must be a rather old name, seeing as though Reimu has the same last name, if I remember correctly. 100 years is a long time, even in name terms!

Next was lunch. To my surprise, we weren't served lunch like in Maijima. Everyone had brought packed bento lunches, and I had nothing. Hungry, I had no plan but to go around asking for bits of food. It helped that many of the kids were nice, as they offered me large portions of really good tasting food.

"Didn't your parents make you food?" A girl whom I didn't notice asked.

"Hmph?" I said, with my mouth still full.

"Your parents. They don't prepare you food?" The girl gave me the cover of her bento box and put takoyaki on it.

"I live with my Nii-sama." I said, swallowing before I spoke.

"Your brother? Why 'sama'?" She asked.

"Well, simply put, he's amazing!" I couldn't help but say with a big smile on my face.

"Oh, I wish I had a sister or brother. My parents say that I'm all they need, but I know that they don't want another baby."

"I'm sure it's not like that! I think they like you and only you!" I said, trying to cheer her up.

"I guess." The girl got up. "My name is Mai. It's nice to meet you."

I didn't notice her wings before she got up. "I'm Elsie de Lute Ima."

She giggled, "What a weird name. I like weird names.'

"Hey, it's not that weird!" I couldn't help but giggle too. Everyone in Japan has such weird, short names.

"Where do you live?" She asked.

"I live outside the b-" I stopped. I couldn't tell her this! This could make me seem like an invading foreigner or... What was it Reimu called it? An incident? "I live near the edge of the Human Village."

"Oh, cool. I live in Makai." She said, obviously proud of living there.

"Makai? Where's that?" I had to ask. It doesn't sound like a place in Gensokyo. Then again, what does sound like a place in Gensokyo? Obviously not a place called the Human Village.

"Huh? You've never heard of Makai? It's behind that shrine. It's a better Hell than Hell!"

Wow, another girl from Hell! I may be able to talk to her freely.

"You're from Hell? I'm from there too!"

"I said 'a better Hell than Hell', not Hell. Also, you don't look like you're from Hell. Where's your wings?"

"I don't need wings. I fly with my hagoromo!" Perhaps this girl didn't know where I'm from, much less know what I'm talking about.

"Uh, right." Keine then announced that class was almost over. That's strange. I remember yesterday class ran into dusk.

"Looks like Keine-sensei is under the weather again." Mai said with an annoyed tone of voice.

"Under the weather?" I asked.

"Yeah, whenever she's 'under the weather', she ends school early. Not that I have a problem with it." Mai said, scarfing the last bit of food she had left. "I'll see you later." Mai got up, and walked out the schoolhouse along with other kids.

Keine sat at her desk by the chalkboard. Looking at her, I got the feeling she wasn't 'under the weather'. It looked more serious. She looked sad. Really sad. I walked up to Keine's desk, and stared.

"Oh, you must be the new chi-" Keine looked at me suspiciously. Oh no! My beret! I forgot to take it off! "Have I seen you before?"

"E-excuse me?" Come on, Elsie. You can do better than THAT!

"I'm sure I saw you before... In fact, I'm positive I saw you before!" Keine said, raising her voice.

"Y-you must mean my sister! She came here to try to tell you I was coming to school today!" Man, my lies needed improvement.

Keine stared at me longer. "Hmph, if you say so... How may I help you, sweetie?" Woah. 'Sweetie'? Isn't that what Americans call each other?

"Um, it may be no business of mine, but I've noticed Keine-sensei has been sad." I said.

Keine's eyes closed for a second. "It's getting late, you should go home." It was just a little bit past noon.

"Okay, sorry Keine-sensei." I said. I walked to the schoolhouse entrance and left. It was pretty obvious she was sad. I guess she thought that since I was a child, I wouldn't catch on to her pushing me away. At least I can tell Nii-sama that she was indeed sad and that that was the reason for why she had a loose soul in her... probably. I made my way to the inn where Nii-sama and I slept in. The keeper warmly welcomed me back and offered me a mint, to which I happily took.

It's been quite the day, even though it's only the afternoon. I must've spent at most 3 hours at school before we left. Whatever the reason, my work here is done. It's up to Nii-sama to do the rest in capturing the loose soul in Keine-sensei. I have nothing to doubt, anyway. He is my Kami Nii-sama, and he never fails.

* * *

**A child-like Elsie went the whole day as a child. It seems Keine has something bothering her, but it's not up to Elsie to find out what it is. Next chapter, the start of the conquest!**

**This is my last chapter before my brief hiatus. I'll be back soon to write again!**


	13. Baí Zé

**After a day at school to watch Keine and see if there's any problem with her, Elsie was told Keine ends school early when she's "under the weather". It's not too hard to see that "under the weather" actually means that she's bothered by something. Could this be the reason for the loose soul?**

**Back to the conquest, just now starting.**

* * *

"Nii-sama! I'm home!" Elsie slammed open the shoji door and skipped inside.

"That was fast. Did you find out anything?"

"Oh, just that Keine ends school early when something is bothering her!"

"That's not good. What else?" Keima asked.

"Well, not much other important stuff. She's a history teacher. She's almost always writing. Her voice is really soft, like she doesn't wanna talk at all." Elsie remembered back to the history lesson of Gensokyo. Keine seemed uncomfortable talking about the history of Gensokyo, as she kept pausing between lines in her book.

"Hmph. I don't blame you for not getting a lot of information. After all, she did end class early."

"Nii-sama, I don't know about Keine. Something seems really off about her."

"In what way?" Keima raised an eyebrow.

"She's uncomfortable to be around. She's almost... too quiet. It's creepy." Elsie said.

"You forget she has a loose soul in her. If she had a loose soul in her and no personality flaws, only then would I be worried."

"I guess. I'd be careful around her, though."

"Are you suggesting that she would be a risk to conquer?"

"I don't know, Nii-sama. I just think she's weird is all."

"Weird doesn't faze me. I'll conquer her and it'll be all over."

"I trust that you'll do that. Just be careful."

"You already said that."

"Yeah, I know. I just don't want anything to happen to my Nii-sama."

"Really, Elsie, I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of this. You spent pretty much a half-day with her in school. I'm sure that's not how she is every day." Keima said.

"Maybe you're right. I guess I'll find out more tomorrow."

"Yeah, you should. I'll go find out more tonight."

"Beg pardon?" Elsie asked, not sure if she heard Keima right.

"I said, I'm going to go see her tonight. She probably hasn't forgotten me as the man who suddenly confessed to her."

"Nii-sama, please reconsider." Elsie begged.

"You're making too much of what you saw in a half-day, Elsie. It's annoying."

"Right. Sorry, Nii-sama." It was no use. Elsie couldn't stop Keima from seeing her.

"I'll just raise some flags tonight and be back in time for lights out. I won't take longer than 10 minutes."

"Okay. I'll wait for you."

"I'm not leaving now. Tell me more about what happened today."

"Oh, okay," Elsie rubbed her chin. "Let's see... She almost found me out today. I forgot to take off my beret. She recognized it from yesterday when it went off in front of her. I made a new friend, and other stuff that's not important."

"Looks like this is going to be a difficult conquest."

"I have a feeling you can get her to like you, Nii-sama. You've gotten two seemingly impossible girls to like you, not to mention all your previous conquests." Elsie smiled.

"I guess," Keima looked away. "I'm sleepy. Wake me up when it gets dark."

_"Sleepy? You were here the whole day while I was away." _Elsie thought. "Okay, will do."

Keima got into the crumpled futon and rested with his back facing Elsie. He wasn't really sleepy. Time alone would give him time to think of what to do for tonight. If Keine was as suspicious as Elsie thought, a plan was going to be needed.

...

A few hours passed until the sun set in the west. The inn became loud with people walking to get inside the hot springs. So loud, in fact, that Elsie didn't need to wake Keima up. Waking from his nap, Keima opened the closet door and put on his yukata. He couldn't go in the t-shirt that he had been wearing since he had arrived in Gensokyo. It reeked of unshowered teenager. The yukata, however, smelled of detergent and was perfect for wearing out, much more so to see a girl. Keima deduced that Elsie was with the crowd of people going to the hot springs, as she was nowhere to be seen. She probably thought that she would wake Keima up after a bath.

Making sure everything about him was presentable, Keima turned off the lights. The halls were empty but chatter could be heard on the far end, which was the entrance to the changing rooms for the springs. Keima walked toward the entrance of the inn and the keeper waved him good-bye. The small light in front of the schoolhouse was still on, which meant Keine was most likely still inside. After knocking three times, Keima listened for sounds of movement. Keine was indeed inside, as the sound of a chair sliding and then footsteps could be heard. After waiting for a few seconds, the door was opened by Keine.

"Hello." Keima said.

"Huh?! I-It's you! The man who confessed to me! Why are you here?" Keine tried to keep a calm face but ultimately failing.

"I'm just here to see if you need help with anything around the schoolhouse."

Keine looked left and right to see if anyone was watching, "Get out of here. Someone might get the wrong idea!"

"I don't care if they do." Keima said.

"Idiot! How can you like me if you don't even know me?" Keine started raising her voice, but quickly quieted down.

"I have my reasons." Keima crossed his arms.

"Just get in! I don't want anyone to see you!" Keine grabbed Keima by the collar and pulled him in to the schoolhouse. "Seriously! What is your problem? Can't you take a hint?"

"My... And here I thought you were a calm, loving schoolteacher." Keima said.

"I'm sorry... It's just that I've had very long days these past few days." Keine rubbed her head then stopped. "Wait, why am I telling you?"

_Aha._

"It's fine. I understand what that's like." Keima grinned to himself.

"Do you now?" Keine teased. "Do you have a name or anything?"

"Introductions already. If I knew better, I'd say the feelings are mutual." Keima teased back.

Keine scoffed, "I'll take that as a no."

"My name's Keima. You can call me Keima-kun."

"Keima-kun? That's too familiar. Not happening." Keine crossed her arms and turned away.

"Man, you're really formal. I guess that's fine." Keima sat down at a desk.

"What are you doing?" Keine asked.

"I'm... sitting." Keima pointed to his backside.

"You're not staying here."

"I didn't want to stay here."

"Then why are you here?" Keine turned around fully to face Keima.

"Can I not spend time with the girl I like?"

"G-Girl... I'll have you know I'm a full-grown woman!" Keine yelled.

"You're still a young girl at heart. I can tell."

"Young? Do you even know how old I am?" Keine asked.

Ouch. She was right. Elsie had forgotten to give Keima her bio. They were so caught up in verifying whether she had a loose soul or not, they completely forgot. He could've impressed or freaked out Keine with his knowledge about her. However she took it, he still would have had more info to work on.

"No, I don't. Do you know how old I am?" Keima asked.

"Seventeen." Keine said instantly.

"That obvious?"

"Quite." Keine said, closing her eyes and whipping her head away. "Hey."

"Hm?"

"Why do you like me anyway?" Keine asked.

"Like I said, I have my reasons." Keima sat back.

"That's not good enough. I need a real reason."

"Well, I guess it's how nice you are with kids?" Keima said.

"Is that a question, or a statement?" Keine snapped.

"S-Statement!" Keima blurted out.

"Hmph. That's fine I guess."

_"Tsundere." _Keima thought.

A moment of silence overcame the entire schoolhouse. It became so quiet, even noises outside couldn't be heard. Keine and Keima stood and sat in their same positions.

"Hey. Uh, Keima-k-... Keima-kun?" Keine spoke up first.

"Yes?" Keima asked.

"How long are you staying? I need you to go as soon as possible." Keine said.

"Oh. I was just leaving now." Keima said, getting up from his desk with a sore back from the small chair.

"D-Don't come back." Keine stuttered, her voice sounding like she didn't mean what she said,

"Right." Keima said, making his way to the entrance. Keine walked with him and opened the door.

"Goodbye, Keima-kun." Keine said, quickly slamming the door shut.

"Right." Keima said to a closed door.

Keima stood outside the schoolhouse door, looking up at the sky. Gensokyo's night sky had an abundance of stars, ranging from big to little. The big dipper was sprawled out across the night sky. The moon was the same as the one in the festival back at Eientei. A full moon.

"Wait, what?" Keima said to himself. There was only supposed to be one full moon a month. This was either very rare, or very suspicious.

Keima started knocking on the door to the schoolhouse. No noise could be heard from within.

"..." Dead silence from within.

"Keine-san. You have to come out here. There's another full moon!" Keima said. This was a perfect event. Not to mention romantic.

"..." More silence.

"Keine?" Keima called, trying to keep quiet.

"..."

"Keine-san, I'm coming in." Keima said, pressing down the lock on the handle.

The schoolhouse was pitch black inside, like the time Keima and Elsie first went there. After a few seconds, a soft _**TCHK!**_ was heard, and then a light emanated from the room in the far back with the desks. The same shadow from the first time was visible. A large head, or possibly body, started to move back and forth. A liquid started to spill from the door to the room. It was red. Keima walked slowly to the door, and peeked his head through. It was a girl with large horns, with a bow tied around one, greenish tint in her hair, and a green-white dress. The girl turned around with two bloody divots in her lips. It was Keine.

"Keine...-san..." Keima couldn't believe what he saw. A distgusting bloody mess on the floor from the two divots on her lips. Her eyes were just as bloody red.

"You weren't supposed..." Keine's voice was deep.

"What?"

"You weren't supposed to... see me.

"..." Keima was speechless, unable to find anything to say to the bloody mess.

"I can't let you live having seen me. I'll have to take care of you."

"..."

"Sorry, Keima-kun." Keine pointed her hand toward Keima.

"W-Wait!"

...

* * *

**Woah! Sudden turn of events! Keine turned into... something! Not only that, but God himself is in danger! What will happen to our protagonist?! What will happen to Keine?! When will I shave?!**

**Next Chapter : ?**


	14. History

**Last chapter, Keine was found in her Hakutaku form by Keima. All bloodied up, Keine attacked Keima! Now what?! The next chapter, that's what!**

* * *

Keima stood outside the schoolhouse door, looking up at the sky. Gensokyos night sky had an abundance of stars, ranging from big to little. The big dipper was sprawled out across the night sky. The moon was the same as the one in the festival back at Eientei. A full moon.

"Wait, what?" Keima said to himself. There was only supposed to be one full moon a month. This was either very rare, or very suspicious. His first thought was to invite Keine to witness this... abnormality in the solar system. Who knows, maybe it could've raised some interesting flags. Keima then decided to leave it be, Keine had had enough bothering for one night. But something bothered Keima.

It feels like... this has happened before.

Keima walked back to the inn. While it was not near the time he usually went to sleep, he felt more tired that day than any other day since he's been in Gensokyo. The door rang a bell to let the innkeeper know that someone entered. Springing from the floor, the innkeeper appeared right before him behind a desk.

"Ah, Keima-san! You're back early!" The innkeeper boomed with a jolly voice.

"Hey Old Man, have you seen the moon outside?" Keima pointed outside.

"The moon? I can't say I have. I've been inside all day." He laughed.

"It's a full moon." Keima said.

"Ah, a full moon! Another one?" The innkeeper sounded surprised.

"Yeah, look." Keima pointed outside.

"Why, I haven't seen a second full moon in a month since I was 20 some odd years old!" The innkeeper chuckled.

_"Gensokyo and Maijima must have different solar systems." _

"Hey, Keima-san. How long are you going to be staying in the Village?" The innkeeper rested a hand on Keima's shoulder.

"I'd wager less than a week."

"In that case, how would you like me to do a favor?"

"Sure." Keima said.

"You seem friendly with Keine-sensei. How about going to her tomorrow and delivering something to her?"

"Okay." Keima said, not thinking twice. The innkeeper couldn't have asked a better favor than this. It involved Keima getting closer to Keine by doing both the innkeeper and Keine a favor.

"My, what a nice man you are! Very well, tomorrow come to me. I'll give you that package to deliver." The innkeeper walked back inside.

_"It feels like I saw Keine just a few minutes ago, though..."_

...

Keima slid the shoji door open to his room and saw Elsie lying on the floor with her yukata slipping off. She looked like an ostrich trying to dig its head into the dirt.

"Dammit. Have some decency." Keima said, slipping the yukata back up to her shoulders. She must've been tired and passed out.

"Welcome backshh, Nii-shama." Elsie muffled, face on the floor.

"Hey."

"How diddit go?"

"Rather well." Keima pulled the futon up, so to cover Elsie.

"Nii-sama, I feel like I've taken two baths. I'm so hot..."

Suddenly, it hit him: Elsie is having déja vu too. This isn't coincidence. He's lived the past few months with Elsie to know that coincidences are usually never the case.

"Elsie, I think something happened." Keima said.

"What?" Elsie said, getting up.

"I think someone is messing with our time."

"What makes you think that?"

"When I saw the full moon outside, I thought of asking Keine to come out, but it already felt like that happened before."

"You mean, you thought you already asked Keine to come out?"

"Yes. When you said you felt like you took two baths, I think it's because you did take two baths."

"Who would 'mess with our time'? Vintage?" Elsie wondered with a serious look on her face.

"I think manipulating time is beyond Vintage. I think something else is doing this, or should I say... someone else."

"Who?"

"There's only one person in this village who knows about time and history."

"You don't think Keine did this, do you?"

"Of course, no other person could have done this. This village is full of humans who can't use magic."

"What should we do?"

"You always ask that. I always say the same thing: we'll confront them tomorrow about it."

"What if she does it again?" Elsie asked.

"Then we'll try again. Keine is making this conquest near impossible."

"Okay, but I just think that Keine might be a lost cause if she won't cooperate. She can mess with time again if we get on her wrong side."

"True." Keima said, then trying to remember the alternate night. "But I can't help but feel as though I saw something I shouldn't have before she changed time."

"Huh..?"

"She had to have changed time for a reason. The only thing is, I can't see why she would. I don't remember what I did, or anything did, to make her want to change time."

"Well, you memory would be fuzzy after a sudden change like that. It's a miracle that you even know that you had déja vu and linked it to Keine." Elsie tightened her inn yukata. "What will you do now?"

"I suppose go after her again tomorrow. I would think she's the only one with memory of what happened. When she realizes I know that she changed time, I catch her redhanded and then she'll have to tell me what happened."

"So, you'll embarrass her?"

"Putting it harshly... Yes." Keima set down his futon and got inside. "I won't do just that. I'll tell her all the while raising event flags, too."

"If anyone could embarrass someone and raise flags, it'd be you Nii-sama."

"Why, of course. I didn't get the handle 'God of Conquest' by doing nothing. You need credibility, which I got." Keima let out a whooping laugh. "Now go to sleep."

"Oh, right. Good luck tomorrow Nii-sama."

The light was turned off by Elsie who got back in her futon after. The full moon was visible through the small window. It was rather otherworldly for a place to get two full moons in a row. Silence soon took over the whole inn.

"Hey, Elsie."

"Mmm?"

"I'll get us back home soon. First, we need to capture all the souls, you understand that?"

"I understand, Nii-sama. I'm not scared anymore. Gensokyo is a nice place. I imagine mother is worried sick, though." Elsies voice started to sink.

"Don't worry. I'll tell her it was all my doing. You won't get in trouble. I'll see to that."

"Nii-sama, you have a sudden change of character. Is everything alright?"

"Well..." Keima paused for a minute. "Sorry, it's just that... This whole experience has been a rather strange one."

"Being in a game and all, right?"

"Yeah, it's rather sad to see that video game girls aren't that different from real world ones... For instance, Marisa reminds me of Chihiro, because they both liked another person."

"Oh! Who does Eirin remind you of?"

"Hmm... Eirin reminds me of... Minami. Remember her?"

"The swimmer? Why?"

"Remember Minami and I went to the Tanabata Festival at the shrine?"

"Oh! I remember now."

"Yeah, see what I mean? These girls aren't any different." Keima smiled while talking.

"Nii-sama, you're smiling."

Keima realized his mistake of letting Elsie see his smile. "N-No I'm not!" Keima turned around in his futon, away from Elsie.

"It's okay, Nii-sama. We'll get all this over with, and you can get back to doing what you do best. Video games."

That's right. Video games. Since the time they've been here, Keima hasn't laid a finger on a single video game, let alone even think about it. Sure, maybe the occasional galge rule that applies to girls and such, but he hasn't though of wanting to actually play one.

"Yeah." Keima said, closing his eyes. "Go to sleep. It's gonna be a big day for both of us tomorrow."

"Okay! Good night, Nii-sama!" Elsie said.

As Keima lay on the floor staring up at the ceiling, he realized that Elsie was right about this experience. It changed the both of them. Showed them that the world wasn't as normal as it seemed. For the first time in a long while, Keima found himself smiling. Gensokyo was a laid back place, far from the real world as you can get. An ideal place for Keima and his views. Tomorrow would be one step closer to getting back home. While Keima didn't want to leave Gensokyo, he realized his mother was probably worried sick. The loose souls would run out eventually, and Keima and Elsie would be home again with their mother without any Vintage bothering Maijima or Gensokyo.

* * *

**Okay! I have a summer job! That means I won't be able to write for two months. Aw... Oh well, I'll be back writing the adventures of Keima and Elsie in Gensokyo in no time! Just you wait!**

**Next Chapter, Climax(?)**


	15. It's Us

**I'm back! I found I have time to write on my days/nights/hours off! That means I can write but at a much slower pace! Let's get back to writing! TCoA is back in full swing!**

* * *

Keima woke up to kids giggling and screaming while playing outside. They sounded like they were playing something REALLY fun or killing eachother. Keima hoped it was the latter so he could go back to sleep.

"Mughhh..." Keima rolled in his futon, putting his pillow over his head. It didn't work. The voices seemed to get louder and louder.

"Kami Nii-sama! Wake up!" Elsie slammed open the sliding doors and shook Keima.

Keima bolted up from his futon. "What?! What could you possibly want at this hour?!"

"Eep!" Elsie cowered. "U-um... That's actually it... The time. It's almost time for school to let out."

"Huh? What time is it?"

Elsie converted her hagoromo to a tablet. "It's almost 3."

"In the afternoon?!" Keima jumped up and got his clothes on. "Dammit... If I can catch her right after she lets out the kids, I can try to prevent the whole time thing from happening again!"

"Nii-sama, if you're right about this whole time thing, what's stopping you from forgetting that Keine can change time?"

"Huh? Clarify." Keima said.

"I mean, do you think you'll forget to keep capturing Keine next time?"

"No. If I remembered this time, then I'll remember next time. Just because she changed our time doesn't mean she can change our memories."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"In any case, I won't let her change time again. Not on my watch."Keima put on the shirt he's worn for almost a week.

"Nii-sama, good luck. I have faith!"

"Yeah. Thanks." Keima walked out the door.

...

The last group of kids ran out of the schoolhouse chasing after eachother. Keine came out to wave them goodbye. She looked happier this time and it showed because she let out school later this time. She walked back inside, leaving the door open which she did usually. Keima walked up to the door and knocked three times.

"Come in!" Keine said from inside.

Keine walked up to the third room on the left. Keine was filling out some paperwork, which piqued Keima's interests mildly because what paperwork could a teacher fill out in a land without a stable government? At least from what Keima saw, Gensokyo didn't have a government. Maybe it was personal paperwork, Keima thought.

"I'm sorry but if you sit down, I'll be right with you." Keine said, with her back still turned toward Keima.

Keima sat down in the benches meant for the smaller kids. It was rather uncomfortable.

"Okay! I'm done! Now what can I d-" Keine stopped wide-eyed. "You! What are you doing here!"

"I just figured I should spend some time with you." Keima said casually.

"What?! I don't want to spend time with you!" Keine shouted but quickly lowered her voice in case someone was listening. "_Just leave!"_

"Why did you do it?" Keima asked.

"Do what?" Keine's eyes widened.

"Why did you mess with my time?" Keima's eyes narrowed.

"Huh?" Keine yelped.

"Did I see something I wasn't supposed to? Did you do something that I shouldn't have seen?"

"What are you-"

"We both know something that if other people knew about, you'd quickly be run out of the village."

Keine sat silently and dropped her head. "You remember?"

Keima was surprised at how fast Keine admitted to it. "I like to think my mind is made of steel. Nothing can get in, nothing can get out."

"That sounds... stupid." Keine giggled.

_"Giggling?" _Keima thought. _"Why is she giggling?"_

"But it's pretty cool, you remember. You saw me all bloody and everything, right?"

"Yeah. I do." Keima lied.

"And even after that, you still like me?" Keine's voiced started to break.

"Yeah. I do like you" Keima tried sounding as convincing as he could.

"Why do you like me?"

"Because Keine-san is kind and gentle. Pretty and great with kids." As hokey as Keima thought this sounded, part of this was true.

Keine started to blush. "I-if you want, you should come tonight."

_"She changed really fast. Did I actually break her?" _Keima thought. "Sure. I can do that."

"Y-yeah... Now if you'll excuse me, I have paperwork to do." Keine turned around facing the desk.

"Okay. I'll be back tonight." Keima said.

Keima walked down the hall and opened the entrance door. The sky started to turn orange. _"Looks like tonight will come earlier than expected." _Keima thought.

...

"Welcome back, Nii-sama." Elsie said as Keima slid the door open.

"Yeah. Hi." Keima waved.

"How did everything go? That was pretty fast!" Elsie playing with a firetruck made by her hagoromo.

"It went well. I seem to have gotten her to admit to messing with our time rather fast." Keima said, opening the closet and puling out a t-shirt.

"Really? Nii-sama, you work faster than I thought." Elsie said.

"A little too fast." Keima said. "I think that I'm getting on her good side, though."

"Do you have plans for tonight?" Elsie said regarding the change of clothes.

"Yeah, she wanted me to see her tonight." Keima said.

"Wow! So this is it? The ending?" Elsie said.

"That's my line, and yeah. I think the flags raised themselves." Keima said, laying down.

"Tired, huh?" Elsie giggled. "You have been working hard, Nii-sama."

"I'd like to think so. Wake me up at around seven."

"That should be enough time. I'm gonna go out to get some stuff like food." Elsie said, commanding the hagoromo to make yen.

"Counterfeit? That's illegal. Whatever, we haven't eaten in forever." Keima rolled around.

"Geez, I'm doing this so we can survive! Anyway, I'll be back by seven. Get some rest." Elsie said, getting the firetruck to convert back into hagoromo puff.

"Yeah yeah... Bye." Keima said, dozing off.

"Bye!" Elsie opened the sliding door and walked out.

...

A loud blaring noise made Keima backflip out of his futon. "What the hell?!"

"Eeeeep! Too loud! Too loud!" Elsie said trying to turn the knob on her hagoromo airhorn until finally turning it off.

"What's the matter?!" Keima yelled.

"It's seven... Sorry." Elsie dropped her head in shame.

Keima sighed. "No, it's fine. Thanks. I should start getting ready."

"By the way, Nii-sama. I got this for you." Elsie handed a vial with purple liquid to Keima.

"What's this?" Keima asked.

"It's cologne made by a flower native to Gensokyo. It's poisonous but fine to wear. It also smells really good!" Elsie said.

"Poisonous? What are you trying to do kill me?!" Keima yelled. "What flower could this possibly be?"

"Lily of the valley! Apparently, there's a whole field of them somewhere north of here!" Elsie said. "I thought this would make you smell better."

Keima looked at Elsie's hagoromo. It was almost non-existent. She must've made as much yen as she possibly could. It would've been bad manners not to wear this.

"Thanks. I'll wear it tonight." Keima smiled faintly.

"R-right! I wish you luck! I'll be there with you anyway. Behind the scenes!" Elsie said.

"You will? Not that I mind." Keima said.

"Of course. If I'm not there, I won't be able to catch the loose soul!"

"Right. I forgot." Keima said, getting up. "Alright. It's time."

"Alright, I'll be outside the schoolhouse. Go work your magic."

Keima doused his hand with the cologne and patted his face with it. It smelled rather nice. "Okay. Here I go."

"Good luck!" Elsie waved.

...

The schoolhouse always looked ominous at night. A lone shack with a lone light. If that didn't look suspicious, nothing did. Keima knocked three times on the door.

"J-just a minute!" There was a lot of movement inside. "Uwaaa!" And she fell...

"Are you okay?" Keima walked in. Keine was on the floor, rubbing her behind. There was a toppled bench that she must've tripped on. She was in a light-blue dress with intricate designs on it.

"Sorry, just getting ready." Keine said.

"For what?" Keima asked.

"For cooking. I made us dinner."

Dinner. She pulled out all the stops on this one. While Keima didn't like it when others took control, this did help a bit with the conquest. He extended a hand toward her. She reluctantly held his hand and Keima pulled her up.

"Thanks." Keine said, whipping her hand back.

"It'd be a waste to let this all go cold. Let's eat." Keima looked at the food. She cooked what looked like takoyaki and rice.

"Yes, let's." Keine said, sitting down at a table made up of four student desks converged into one.

After saying 'thanks for the food', they served themselves with plates that looked expensive. Keine must've bought this at quite the price tag.

"I've never eaten with anyone else before besides the occasional feast run by that shrine maiden." Keine said.

"Reimu-san? She seems to have friends everywhere." Keima said with food still in his mouth.

"I wouldn't think of her as a friend. We've had our share of fights." Keine chuckled.

"From what it sounds like, everyone has." Keima said.

"Yeah, she's sort of like Gensokyos police force. A one-man army, if you will." Keine said.

"Ah, so you've caused your share of mischief, I gather?" Keima asked.

"Sort of." Keine was clearly embarrassed at the question. "I was trying to protect the village from a danger that never really existed. In the end, Reimu saw me as a threat and well... I got my ass handed to me, if you will." Keine said.

"Yeah, Reimu-san looks like a force to be reckoned with." Keima said, finishing up his plate of rice.

"Have you had enough to eat?" Keine said, pulling out a jar of sake.

"Sake? I'm not old enough." Keima said.

"Old enough? Is there an age limit where you're from?" Keine said.

"Yeah, 20 is the age of drinking." Keima said.

"Sounds... boring. Besides, let's live a little." Keine swished the jar around.

"Might as well see what all the fuss is about, I suppose." Keima said, taking a sake dish.

...

"Hahahaha! No wayyyy!" Keima giggled.

"Yeah! Ish true! She totally puked all over her that one time! It was gross!" Keine boomed.

"Thatsh dishgushting! What else?" Keima slurred.

"We had to take her ass to Eirin. She wash that gone. We didn't see her until two daysh later."

"Wow. Weak. Can't even handle a little bit of alcohol."

"What about you? Can you go for some more?" Keine asked, holding up the almost empty sake bottle.

"Nah, I can't. I'm jush recovering from my shtupor." Keima said.

"Yeah, I think I'll stop too." Keine said, laying down.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Keine said, "Hey Keima."

"Hm?" Keima said, lying on the floor.

"Thanks for keeping me company. It gets lonely here. No one really talks to me." Keine said.

"That's because everyone is afraid to talk to you. You come off as very pretty and all the men are afraid to talk to you. You also come off as hard working and I guess that's why the women don't talk to you either. The other day, the innkeeper wanted me to deliver a package to you. I never did get around to doing that, though. I'll get him to do it himself." Keima said.

"Is that so? Maybe I should make the effort and talk to others first." Keine's voice lowered.

"Everyone likes you, they're just afraid to admit it." Keima said.

"And what about you? Do you actually like me or are you just saying that?" Keine asked.

"I see no reason to lie about that. Yes, I do." Keima lied, getting annoyed by the question.

"I see." Keine got up. "You know my secret, yet you don't think I'm a monster."

"Nope."

Keine crawled over to him and hugged him. "I don't like you."

"Whatever." Keima was too disoriented to care about Keine hugging him.

"Why do you like me? The real reason." Keine asked.

"Because you are you. You're not pretending to be anyone else. That's more admirable than anything."

"I'm me? Because I'm myself."

"Yeah, you're not putting on a facade like most girls do." Keima started to doze off.

"I was thinking about killing you in the beginning of this dinner, you know."

"But you didn't." Keima said.

Keine pushed her head closer into Keima's side. "I don't like you. I don't hate you either. I can't make up my mind about you."

"Hmph." Keima grunted.

Keine jumped and sat on top of Keima. "You're annoying, you know that?"

"Huh?!" Keima woke up instantly. "Get off of me!"

"Nope! Not gonna happen." Keine hugged Keima's neck.

"You're drunk. Get off of me."

"Guilty as charged. You are too." Keine showed no signs of regaining her composure.

"Ugh, I'm tired. Let me sleeeeeep." Keima tried to push off Keine.

"I really don't like you. I won't let you sleep." Keine giggled like a little girl.

_"Maybe I should just give up because of how annoying this conquest is..." _Keima thought.

"I'm glad I didn't kill you. I usually can't be friends with people like you. Your lives are too short. You live a bugs life."

"How... nice." Keima said, still pinned by the light weight of Keine on top of him.

"However, I'd like to try to like someone. Even if for a short time." Keine said.

"The only one stopping you is you." Keima said.

Keine didn't say anything. He's right, she thought. All these hundred years of living, and the only one stopping her from loving anything is herself.

"I lied. I don't not like you." Keine said.

"Double... negatiii..." Keima started to doze off.

"I love you..." Keine said softly.

Keima's eyes shot open as Keine pressed her lips onto his. Keine hugged his neck tight showing no signs of letting go. The kiss lasted for 5 seconds before the loose soul was dispelled from her. Elsie would take care of it, Keima knew. Keine went limp after the uncomfortable kiss on the floor. Keima pushed her off of him, and got up. She wouldn't wake up for a while.

"Well... That's that." Keima said to himself.

...

"Nii-sama, I'm back from cleaning up. Lookit lookit!" Elsie showed him the bottle that contained the loose soul. The poor thing tried ramming itself onto the glass in hopes of breaking it.

"What did you clean up?" Keima asked

"The meal you two had. I have to say, it looked lively in there. I didn't know you drank, Nii-sama." Elsie said.

"Never again." Keima rubbed his head.

"Would you like some water? I heard humans tend to have terrible headaches if they sleep drunk without water."

"Yeah sure." Keima said.

"I knew you could do it." Elsie said softly, hoping Keima heard her.

_"Keine trusted me rather quickly. I knew she wasn't inviting me to dinner out of good will. If I hadn't gotten on her good side, I would've been dead by now. When she wakes up, she'll forget all about me. However, she'll wake up a new person. I know she'll socialize more. She'll definitely become popular in this village." _ Keima thought. _"In the mean time, I gotta get some sleep. Screw the water."_

* * *

**And thus ends the conquest of Keine. Truly a fun one to write! As expected, I'll be writing fanfics in a much slower rate. I hope you enjoyed! See ya! ^^;**


	16. Otome

**Let's get back into the swing of things with yet another chapter! Keine was finally conquered and with that, it's back to Reimu for more intel on girls with possible loose souls in them! Let's go!**

* * *

After checking out from the inn, Keima and Elsie took to the sky toward the shrine. It seemed that Reimu knew a lot about the girls on Gensokyo. After all, she was the one preserving the peace in Gensokyo so it would be natural that she knew something about everyone. Keima remembered Reimu saying something about another girl before Keine. Someone with a name beginning in Sa. They landed at the entrance of the shrine and walked up to the door and knocked.

"Yo." A voice said from inside.

Keima slid open the door. "We did it."

"You did? Damn, you work fast. You went after... Keine right?"

"Yes! Here!" Elsie presented a bottle with a sleeping loose soul inside.

"Woah. So that's what was inside Keine? Weird." Reimu said

"Yup. My thoughts exactly the first time." Keima said. "Anyway, who's next?"

"Oh, Sakuya. I told you she came here acting all weird. You wanna know where you can find her?"

"Yeah, that'd be of great help."

"Alright, if you goooo..." Reimu was turning around in circles to try and remember where to go to get to where Sakuya is. "That way, you'll reach a big mansion. You can't miss it. Say you're applying for a job or something."

"Right." Keima said.

"Before you leave, tell me how it went down." Reimu said curiously.

"Well, we had dinner together, got drunk, she kissed me, wash, rinse, repeat." Keima said. "After a kiss followed with feelings of love, the loose soul is kicked out of the heart. I told you this, right?"

"Yeah. So you got drunk with her, eh?" Reimu had a nasty look on her face. "How nasty, you taking an advantage over a schoolteacher. She was quite the drinker. She and Suika always run me out of sake in the parties. More than anyone, at least." Reimu said.

"Yeah, she drank quite a bit." Keima said. "Anyway, we should be off. Might as well get this over with. Kinda wanna get home before my mom freaks out more as days pass."

"I'd say you've been a great help here in Gensokyo. I judged you wrong. In any case, you should get to 'conquering' or whatever it is you do." Reimu made a shoo'ing motion with her hand.

"Right right... We'll see you later." Keima got up and walked toward the entrance.

"Thank you again, miss Reimu." Elsie bowed deeply.

"Yeah yeah..." Reimu waved.

...

Sure enough, the mansion Reimu mentioned was there. Huge was not a big enough word for it. More like gargantuan or colossal.

"Let me off by the entrance." Keima pointed toward the gate in the front of the mansion.

Touching down, a girl was lying down at the gate. She had red hair and dressed in casual Chinese garb.

"Oi." Keima said.

She was still sleeping.

"Oi!" Keima yelled.

Nothing.

"Do it." Keima said.

"Right." Elsie formed something from her hagoromo.

**BYEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW! **An airhorn blared at the extra high setting. She started to move.

"Hm?" The girl opened an eye. "HUWOOOOH!"

"Eh?!" A flying leg collided with Keima's face, throwing him across road leading to the entrance.

"Kyaaaa!" Elsie cowered on the floor, covering her head.

"What business do you have here?!" The girl boomed.

"W-we want a j-job! We n-need one!" Elsie trembled in fear.

"Huh? A job?" She dropped her fists.

"China?" Someone came walking up from behind her. "What's going on?"

"A-ah! Miss Sakuya!" The guard saluted.

"Oh? A visitor?" Keima walked up to the entrance, bloody and dirty. "Visitors?"

"I-I did what I had to do, Miss Sakuya, ma'am!" The guard yelled.

"You... engaged a visitor. Look at him!" Sakuya said.

**DORODORODORODORODORODORODORODORODORODORO! **The alarm was... faster this time.

"Eh?" The guard was caught off-guard by the sudden blaring alarm.

"Huh?" Keima said. "Why is it faster?"

"I-I don't know!" Elsie pressed it once. The alarm kept going but at a slower pace. She pressed it again, and it stopped. "Sorry about that!"

"It's fine. What brings you two to these parts?" Sakuya asked.

"We were wondering if any job openings were available here." Keima said.

"Not any that are paying." The guard said.

"Mind your tongue." Sakuya snapped. "Yes, there are. However, none are paying. More like a room and board job."

"If it's of any help, we would like to take it." Keima said.

"That's fine. What's your specialty?" Sakuya asked.

"Gam-" Keima stopped himself. "Grunt work?" He said what came to mind first.

"Ah, good. We'll need some help with that. And you?"

"Cleaning." Elsie said, clutching her broom.

"Perfect! Two openings that are available. Come inside!" Sakuya opened the gate she was behind. Keima stole a quick glace at the guard who shot him a cold glare. She obviously didn't trust him. Probably because he was a man.

Sakuya showed Keima the moving he'd be doing of storage boxes and other things. Pretty much, his job was picking things up and putting them down in other places. Elsie's job involved sweeping hallways, the kitchen, and rooms which would be hard, but she has her broom which is capable of cleaning an entire house in a second.

"If you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know." Sakuya said, rushing upstairs.

Elsie waited until Sakuya was out of sight until she said, "Nii-sama, I think we have a problem."

"I heard it too." Keima said, hanging his head.

"The alarm was going at double speed. That means... two loose souls. The guard and Sakuya."

"Ugh... How am I gonna pull this off? If I conquer one, and then the other, Sakuya will notice and fire us. That means..."

"Yes. You'll have to conquer them both with a little time difference between eachother." Elsie sighed.

"Damn damn damn damn!" Keima dug his face in his hands.

"Don't worry, Nii-sama. You'll have me to help!" Elsie smiled.

"Yeah, I guess." Keima said, voice breaking.

"We'll just try and conquer the guard on our hours off! Yeah, that's it!" Elsie said.

"I've never seen this in a game before. Mostly because if this WAS in a game, the game wouldn't sell jack! It would be a shitty game!" Keima yelled out loud.

"Don't worry. You are the 'capturing god' after all." Elsie pumped a fist in the air.

"You're right. If I'm even worthy of that title, I'll have to prove that worth! Time for attack this head on!" Keima buttoned his dress shirt to the collar.

"Right. For now, however, let's get to work!" Elsie said, walking away.

"Right... See you on our hour off." Keima waved before walking the other way.

* * *

**Wow! A double conquest! This'll be a hard one, but surely not hard enough for the Capturing God... Right? It seems Meiling and Sakuya have loose souls in them, they'll need to be conquered at different times. Full steam ahead! I hope you enjoyed!**


	17. Grunt Work

**After finding out of the TWO loose souls they have to capture, Keima and Elsie took jobs as workers in the Scarlet Devil Mansion in order to get closer to Sakuya and Meiling. Time to do something the God hasn't done before... A successful double conquest. Enjoy!**

* * *

After 3 days, saying what was on his mind at that second was a bad idea. Keima picked up boxes weighing the equivalent of a teenage child and moved them into others rooms. The others maids left all the work to him, since he was a man. In their eyes, he should be able to do grunt work like this all the time. The God swore his back would give way and snap at any second. After hours of picking up boxes and moving furniture for no reason, Keima had the rest of the night off. He was on the second floor which served at the guest floor and the employee living quarters. Walking to the top floor where Elsie was, he thought the mansion was infinite and would never end. Elsie was on the floor playing with her hagoromo firetruck. She must've finished hours ago, Keima thought.

"Hey," Keima said. "You're done."

"Ah! Hello, Kami Nii-sama!" Elsie jumped up to greet her brother. "Yes, I finished a long time ago. With this broom, cleaning only takes seconds."

"That's cheating, I swear." Keima moped, still tired from his hours of work moving boxes.

"Look on the bright side, now we can proceed to capture them at your leisure!" Elsie said.

"I suppose we should get started on that," Keima started toward the stairs. "Let's go."

"'Kaaaaay!" Elsie ran after him.

Sakuya should be first, as a first impression hasn't been made on her, Keima thought. She seemed like the kind of person who could keep a cool head under pressure in Keima's eyes. The two saw Sakuya casually walking, scoping out signs of slacking from her fellow maids, it looked like. Sakuya's eyes eventually met Keima's and Elsie's.

"Ah, are you two taking the rest of the night off?" Sakuya asked.

"Yes, we thought it would be nice to take a walk around the mansion." Keima said.

"That would be a good idea. However," Sakuya beckoned the two over. "Don't go to the room at the end of the hall of the last floor. Just a warning."

"Sure." Keima said. "While I'm at it, my sister is going somewhere else for the night. If it wouldn't be of any trouble, could you give me a tour?"

Elsie felt betrayed. "Nii-sama!"

Keima turned his head, giving a stare that bore right through Elsie's being. Defeated, Elsie walked away.

"It wouldn't be any trouble at all. It's the least I could do for a fellow worker." Sakuya turned around and made for the stairs. "Well then, shall we?"

"Right." Keima followed.

...

"Lady Remilia usually likes to have the guest floor the neatest in case a visitor happens to drop by, which happens a lot. The boxes contain around 30 to 40 china plates in them. That's why it's so important you move them into storage." Sakuya explained.

"I see. Lady Remilia is a lady of taste. Expensive taste." Keima said.

"Yes, she's always had an eye for expensive things," Sakuya went on. "Also, don't tell her I told you this, but she likes cute things too."

"Really? Like what?" Keima said, walking up to the third floor behind Sakuya.

"Well, Lady Remilia has quite a fondness for cats." Sakuya chuckled.

"I wonder what kind of person Lady Remilia is. Maybe one day I'll meet her." Keima said.

"Well, if you're lucky, she might want to go out for a bit. You may be able to hold to umbrella to shield the almighty Remi-chan." Sakuya joked.

"Remi-chan? I hope you don't call her that to her face."

"Oh no, I secretly call her that. I wouldn't dare say that to her." The two reached the top of the third floor.

"Third floor. I didn't really check but what floor is this for?" Keima asked.

"Well, I sleep here. Meiling sleeps here. We don't count as normal employees. We've both worked here for quite some time, you see."

"Oh? How long." Keima asked

"Too long to remember exactly." Sakuya said, embarrassed for not remembering.

"I see. You must be very loyal to work here for as long as you have."

"It's not so much loyalty. It's more like an obligation. I couldn't imagine working elsewhere. This place is home to me."

"Me and my sister are a long way from home, you know." Keima said.

"Where are you from? The Human Village?" Sakuya asked.

"No, we're from beyond the barrier."

"Outsiders?" Sakuya scoffed. "Must've been embarrassing for Reimu to hear that."

"Yeah, I would say she was embarrassed. We were labeled as 'incidents' and were shunned by her. She eventually warmed up to us."

"She did? I would ask how, but something tells me it took a long time to gain her trust."

"Not really. We just happen to have the same jobs. Well, I had the same job. Now I work here."

"You're a priest? You strike me as sort of young to be one." Sakuya said with a surprised tone.

"More like an exorcist where I'm from," Keima said. "My sister and I are a two-man team."

"How you managed to lose that job is beyond me." Sakuya teased.

"I wouldn't say I lost it," The two stopped in front of a door. "What room is this?"

"This is my room and next to my room is Meiling's room. Next to that is Patchouli's room, though she hasn't slept in it in ages," Sakuya looked around, as if looking for anyone who might be listening. "She sleeps in the library."

"Library? This mansion has everything." Keima said.

"Yes, indeed. The Mansion would seem massive to someone who hasn't seen it before." Sakuya said.

"And the other rooms?" Keima asked, pointing down the hall.

"Those rooms are for really important guests. We don't get a lot of those, so those rooms remain untouched most of the time."

"Wow, you must be quite the head maid to see to it that the Mansion is in great shape as it is." Keima complimented her, hoping for a reaction.

"W-well, I do try." Sakuya walked faster.

_"Bingo." _Keima got the reaction he was waiting for. "Sorry, I shouldn't say things like that."

"No no! It's fine! It was nice." Sakuya turned around and waved her hands frantically.

"It was fine? Well, if Sakuya-sama says it is then..." Keima pushed his luck farther.

"S-Sakuya-sama? You're giving me too much credit." Sakuya turned her back to Keima and buried her face in her hands.

"Sakuya-sama is the easily embarrassed type? I thought you were cool under pressure!" Keima kept going.

"It's only when things are embarrassing like this!" Sakuya raised her voice and walked faster. "And this is the stairs- Wait, I mean..!"

"Yes, those are stairs. At least, they look like them." Keima fixed his glasses as if professionally prospecting the stairs.

"Um, and you go up them!" Sakuya tried to play it off.

"Right. Up we go." Keima walked past Sakuya up the stairs.

...

After walking up 2 more flights of stairs, the two reached the last floor. There was only two rooms, one for storage and the other room had a door the was iron barred and had a keyhole to open it.

"What's that room?" Keima asked, looking at the barred door.

"That," Sakuya's voice hardened. "Is the room you will never go in."

"What's wrong with going in?"

"Don't worry about that. I just came up here to show you what it looks like, so you know to never go in it."

"Kind of pointless." Keima said.

"If you think it's pointless, how about if you open it, you die." Sakuya glared at Keima.

"Sort of like, don't open this even if you reeeeally want to. It's important you never open this. Don't open this, it's bad." Keima ranted sarcastically.

"Enough. I shouldn't have brought you up here" Sakuya grabbed Keima's arm, leading him down the stairs.

The two arrived at the second floor. "In any case, I promise not to open it. Not tonight anyway, I'm sleepy." Keima joked.

Sakuya giggled. "Go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

"Right. See you." Keima said, opening the door to his room. He dropped down onto his bed in full dress. He didn't care if he woke up in the morning uncomfortable. It meant he wouldn't have to change into his uniform in the morning. He closed his eyes, and went to sleep. It would be another long day tomorrow, but at least he made progress with Sakuya. Tomorrow was Meiling.

* * *

**So the first part of the conquest with Sakuya was a success! Spending some time with her made Sakuya acknowledge Keima's existence! Maybe if I do the same, I'll get a girlfriend too! Hmmm... - -;**

**Hope you enjoyed. **


	18. Day Off

**Alright! Another chapter! Last time, Keima made some progress with Sakuya by spending time with her AND embarrassing her! This time, it's the scrappy Meiling who needs to have some time spent with. Now, let's get back to the capture already in progress.**

* * *

Keima woke up from his uncomfortable sleep. He was still in his uniform which smelled faintly of sweat, obviously from all the moving back and forth of the boxes of porcelain and china. Keima got up to look outside when he realized there were no windows in his room. Thinking about it, he hadn't seen a single window since he had been there besides the entrance windows. Keima put on his shoes and tightened his bowtie and collar and walked out to start his work. During his hour off, he would try and talk to Meiling and hope for a better scenario than when they first met.

...

"Alright, I believe that's everything. You're free to go, stupid man." A fairy maid said.

"How much money does Lady Remilia have to blow?" Keima asked under his breath.

He walked out the storage room and went to his room to change into his shirt that he stole from the inn at the Human Village. It was the only shirt that didn't reek of sweaty teenager. After changing, Keima went downstairs and walked out for a stroll around the mansion. He didn't see Meiling at her post by the gate, so he thought she was sleeping somewhere like she did when they first met. Keima made a turn to go into the gardens. Might as well kill some time walking around until she gets back, Keima thought. The garden was bigger than any garden he had seen in his life. He saw some flowers that he swore were from some exotic island out west. There was a small moat going around the mansion, giving the garden a more 'natural' feel to it. After walking around for five or so minutes, Keima heard rustling from a corner of the garden followed by giggling.

"Hehehe..." A light giggle could be heard from behind a bush.

Keima walked up to the bush and parted the leaves. It was Meiling. She was feeding a squirrel and acorn. There were acorns scattered around that she must've collected. She also had a pink carnation in her hair. The acorn hesitantly jumped to Meiling and took the acorn. It ran away as soon as it noticed Keima behind Meiling.

"I had no idea." Keima said.

"Eep!" Meiling squealed. "Y-Y-Y-You! What are you- How did-"

"I'm done with all my work for today. I wanted to spend some time with you, but you weren't at your post so I decided to go for a little walk." Keima said.

"Spend time with," Meiling quickly took off the carnation from her hair and hid it behind her back. "Me? Why?"

"I dunno. I just wanted to."

"I don't trust you men. I know how you work. Spending time with someone means that you just want to do dirty things to them!" Meiling pointed at Keima accusingly.

"No. Not at all. What kind of men do you hang out with?" Keima facepalmed.

"Y-You know, a lot! I've had a boyfriend once!" Meiling's voice cracked when she said 'boyfriend'.

"Right. How did that work out?" Keima didn't believe her for obvious reasons.

"You caught me" Meiling gave up.

"Yeah, I thought so." Keima said. "So, wanna hang out?"

"Hmph. Whatever, it's not like I have anything better to do. If you try anything funny, I'll end you."

"Right." Keima said.

"How long have you been working here?" Keima asked.

"Eh, I can't remember for how long. It's been quite a while. You?" Meiling asked.

"Started 5 days ago. It's rather enjoyable." Keima lied.

"Really? What do you even do?" Meiling asked.

"I move boxes full of porcelain and other plates." Keima said.

"Oh yeah, sounds like heaps of fun." Meiling scoffed.

"Well, I enjoy it." Keima said.

"Yeah right."

"Why does everyone in Gensokyo hate men?" Keima asked suddenly.

"Well... I haven't really.. Seen one..." Meiling looked away.

"Wait, I understand that a lot of Gensokyo is made up of girls but you're telling me you haven't seen one guy?!" Keima exclaimed.

"Yeah. I don't think Lady Remilia has either. I think Sakuya has." Meiling said.

"Well, I assure you I'm not like those sick twisted men you have in your mind." Keima mocked.

"Hey! It's what I was told."

"By whom?" Keima asked.

"By a book." Meiling said. "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. It's embarrassing as is."

"Fine. I do have a question though," Keima said. "What do you think about me? Am I as bad as you thought? We've been talking for about an hour or so." This had been the 6th time they had circled around the large garden.

"I guess you're as good as they come. There, is that what you wanted me to say?" Meiling said.

"I guess you're a good person too." Keima said without feeling.

"Hey, that didn't sound sincere!" Meiling puffed up her cheeks.

"Hmph." Keima grunted. "By the way, what was the deal with that squirrel?"

"Huh?" Meiling was caught off guard.

"You looked really cute with that squirrel, feeding it and all that." Keima said.

"H-Hey! I was only feeding it! It looked hungry."

"And that carnation in your hair?"

"Uhm, about that..."

"You should put it back on. I think you looked nice." Keima smiled charmingly.

"Ah, um... Fine. I'll do it to shut you up." Meiling said. "You're annoying as is."

Meiling quickly picked a flower from its bed while walking past it. She parted her hair slightly to make room for the stem. She put the flower in her hair and locked it in place.

"There." Meiling said, not noticing Keima was there.

"Looks nice. Pretty, if I may say." Keima said.

"No, you may not say." Meiling jokingly punched Keima. Even though it was meant as a joke, it still hurt.

"I'm getting tired. I'm gonna head up and go to sleep." Keima said.

Meiling frowned. "So soon?"

"Yeah, I worked quite a bit. I'm pretty tired." Keima stretched. _"That's it..."_

"Okay, I guess. It's kinda boring spending my day off here. It was fun while it lasted, I guess." Meiling said, failing to hide her disappointment.

"Yeah." Keima said. "I'll see you later."

Approaching Meiling would have to be different than Sakuya was approached, Keima thought. Meiling is a totally different person than Sakuya. They both have a cute side, but they also have different personalities. Walking back into the mansion, Keima saw Sakuya looking through one of the only windows in the whole mansion. She looked troubled. Keima decided to ignore it and went up to his room. It was still light out when he went back in, but he might as well get all the sleep he can, Keima thought. It would be another day of hard work. Tomorrow, he would alternate conquests. Tomorrow was Sakuya.

* * *

**While spending a little time with her, Keima made considerable progress with Meiling. It's obvious she tries to hide her cutesy side. Tomorrow, he'll spend time with the lady-like Sakuya! I wonder how it'll go...**


	19. The Power of Two

**Woaaaah! Talk about a LONG hiatus! Last chapter left off on quite the cliffhanger. A rampaging Sakuya tried to make quick, quiet work of Keima and Elsie but failed... Let's see how it pans out.**

* * *

"Checkmate." Sakuya said, drawing four knives from her leg belt. She threw them in a perfect arc toward Keima and Elsie. Sakuya pulled out her pocket watch and resumed timed. The knives again slowly gained momentum toward Keima and Elsie. Elsie's hagoromo covered Keima and her, stopping the knives just short of their bodies.

"Tch," Sakuya threw more knives in greater numbers. "There's only so much magic you magic-users can use."

"Elsie! Out the door!" Keima ran toward the entrance door under the cover of the hagoromo shield. The door opened as Keima threw his body onto it. Elsie followed close behind. The hagoromo started thinning as more knives hit it.

"Nii-sama, the gates! The gates!" Elsie warned, going full speed toward the iron gates.

"I know!" Keima once again threw his body toward it. The gate wasn't locked and gave way instantly.

"Huh?!" Meiling woke up from next to the gate.

"Meiling, we're leaving!" Keima said.

"Those knives are floating in mid-air! Sakuya isn't..." Meiling saw the knives portruding from the hagoromo that was invisible to non-demon buddy eyes.

"She is! She's gone mad!" Elsie said, hiding with Keima behind the brick pillar that holds the gates.

"I-I'll take care of her!" Meiling had a mixed look of fear and anger.

"No! You don't understand! She-" Time stopped again. When it resumed, Sakuya stood behind Keima, Elsie, and Meiling.

"..."

"..."

"...She's behind us." Keima broke the silence.

"Yes." Elsie said.

"Sakuya! Leave them alone!" Meiling yelled.

"Mind your own business, China. They're not fit to be workers here." Sakuya said.

"So you go and kill them because of it? That's not right!"

"Nor was you two inappropriately flirting in the gardens."

"Gimme a break! He was on his day off!" Meiling clenched her fist. "Can't two friends talk?"

"Doesn't matter. No relationships at the workplace. If you really want, I can kill you, too." Sakuya drew a knife from her belt. "It wouldn't be the first time I stabbed you, but it'd be the last. That, I can assure you."

"Grrr..." Meiling clenched her fists harder. "Sakuya, I'm warning you. Stop this."

"Best unclench that fist." Sakuya drew another knife between her fingers and walked toward Meiling with murder in her eyes.

With lightning fast movement, Meiling swept a kick toward Sakuya's face. Stopping time, Sakuya reappeared behind Meiling then resumed time. Not stopping her kick, Meiling instead switched to a roundhouse kick and landed a clean hit to Sakuya's temple, which sent her flying through the mansion door, into the foyer.

"I warned ya." Meiling said, patting her hands clean.

"A-amazing..." Elsie said. "That was amazing!"

"Cool..." Keima was at a loss for words.

"Are you okay?" Meiling extended a hand toward Keima. Elsie looked on jealously.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Keima took her hand. "Thanks."

"It was nothing. As a matter of fact, this is the first time I ever got her with one of my kicks." Meiling rubbed her head. "It's kinda cool to hit something once in a while."

"You... really are amazing, Meiling." Keima said.

"Y-yeah, that was pretty amazing." Meiling laughed embarrassedly.

"What'll we do about Sakuya?" Keima turned toward the mansion entrance.

"I'll take care of that, but first, I'll have to explain this to master." Meiling turned Keima around by his shoulder. "You sure she didn't hurt you guys?"

"E-eh? Yeah, that's what I said, right?" Keima was surprised by the sudden touch from Meiling. She turned him around with such strength, that she almost spun him 360 degrees.

"Uh, Kami Nii-sama?" Elsie tugged on his sleeve.

"What is it?"

"Sakuya. She's gone." Elsie pointed toward the foyer. There was nothing where Sakuya laid 30 seconds ago.

"H-huh?!" Keima's vision went colorless. He could hear Sakuya cough lightly behind him.

"That was a nice kick. It really hurt." Sakuya stood behind Meiling and threw a cluster of knives at her back.

Meiling whimpered, as she couldn't move her lips to say anything in the timeless realm. Time started again, and move slowly returned to everyone. The knives gained momentum as usual when time resumed from Sakuya's realm before plunging deep in Meiling's back.

"Gah!" Meiling fell to the ground, as if pushed violently. She laid motionless.

"1 down." Sakuya drew more knives from the belt around her leg. The belt looked like it held a good twenty knives at best but from the amount Sakuya threw, the amount she had was endless.

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait!" Keima extended his arms to motion Sakuya to stop. "Hear me out!" Elsie hid behind Keima, readying her hagoromo for anything.

"What?" Sakuya's voice matched her eyes.

"Why? Why do you want to kill us badly?"

"Because, you don't deserve to work for Lady Remilia. You just mess around."

"When?! During my day off? It's called a day off for a reason."

"A day off is for going outside of the mansion or sleeping. You are not to bother anyone else on duty."

"Huh? Meiling was on her day off!"

"Correction : She was _not _on her day off."

"What?" Keima realized his mistake.

"From what I heard, you asked her to 'hang out' and she said that since she had nothing better to do, she would."

"Nii-sama... You took Meiling away from her post?" Elsie sounded terrified.

"Something you should know is that security never takes days off." Sakuya twirled a knife around her finger. "You would know that if you were a good employee."

"G-gimme a break! I didn't know half the stuff you're accusing me of was wrong! Also, Meiling looked as though she were on her day off!" Keima was in a tough position.

"And you take that as an excuse to go and talk to her? I was done with my work, you could've talked to me.

_"What... did she say?"_ Keima understood where Sakuya's rage was coming from. "Sakuya, are you by any chance jealous?"

"Eh?" Sakuya was caught off guard.

"Well, you said that I could've talked to you. You wanted me to talk to you, didn't you?" Keima tried his best not to sound scared, in hopes of trying to change the murderous atmosphere into something other than that.

"No, that's not what I meant. I-" Sakuya dropped her knife.

"Oh, so I was mistaken." Keima feigned disappointment.

"Why do you sound upset by that?!" Keima had Sakuya right where he wanted her.

"It's nothing. It would've been nice if Sakuya-sama wished for my presence."

"D-do you take me for an idiot?! I know you're trying to change the subject!" Sakuya drew another knife.

"Sakuya, you're not a murderer." Keima took a gamble with his words. Hoping to catch Sakuya's bluff. "You wouldn't kill me."

"I would too! I've thrown so much silver at you, but your sister has saved you!" Sakuya said.

"Those were dummies, weren't they?" Keima asked. "As for the knife you threw at me in the Voile Library, you knew I had a book in my pocket."

"Eh?"

"Elsie?" Keima turned to Elsie who didn't seem as scared as she was before.

"Judging from the knives I collected from the hagoromo..." Elsie drew one of Sakuya's knives and pushed against the blade. The fake blade pushed inwards to the handle. "This is a fake."

Sakuya dropped all the knives she had in hand. Her head dropped.

"Isn't it enough, Sakuya?" Keima sounded condescending. "You just pulled off this big shit-fit for fun, right? A true sadist, if I may say so myself."

Sakuya stood motionless.

"You never really wanted to hurt me, you just wanted to have some fun, even if it meant wrecking the mansion. You just needed a motive to attack me, even if it was a stupid one. What do you think Lady Remilia would think?"

Still motionless.

"Right. The silent treatment. Whatever. I quit anywa-"

Before he knew it, Sakuya appeared in front of Keima and hugged him.

"Eh?!" Elsie looked at the two, shocked.

"Wh-what are you doing?! Get off of me."

"You're right. I'd never hurt a new guy on the job." Sakuya's deep voice was muffled behind Keima's dress shirt. "How did you know they were fake?"

"I've been attacked before. I know when someone is trying to attack me and when someone isn't." Keima didn't really know the difference, but again hoped Sakuya wouldn't catch his bluff.

"I see." Sakuya backed off of Keima. "Sorry."

"What was up with that hug?" Keima pushed her farther away from him.

"You... must wanna quit after this, don't you? I guess it's a goodbye hug." There was something off about Sakuya.

"Yeah, I'm gonna quit after today." Keima kept an eye on Sakuya's hands, seeing if she makes any movement toward the knives on her belt. She kept making reflexive movements, hands trembling on the belt. "It's for the best, y'know?"

"I understand. I'll get your pay then." Sakuya turned toward the door where Meiling lay.

"Nii-sama, did you notice..." Elsie whispered.

"Yeah, something's not right." Keima looked at Sakuya.

"I don't think she's gonna get your money. Something's really off."

"Crap..." Keima started running after Sakuya. It wasn't just coincidence that Elsie sensed something off too. "Sakuya!"

Sakuya turned slowly. Keima knew that something would happen if Sakuya were left alone. This was his only chance to change the future. To prevent anyone from getting hurt. He would have to do what he did best.

"Sakuya..." Keima grabbed her hand. "Don't do anything stupid."

"What are you talking about? I'm only gonna get your pay." The way she slurred the word 'pay' only made Keima more scared. He might be overreacting, he thought to himself, but on the off chance she would do something, Keima would try to prevent her doing anything to his other capture.

"You were gonna close the door and hurt Meiling, weren't you?" Keima asked. "I know you're jealous, but let me tell you something: you don't have to be because the one I wanted to hang out with. The one I like is you! I should've made it more obvious!"

"Eh?" Sakuya stood awkwardly, as if wanting to run away but frozen in place.

"I'm sorry, I should've put in more of an effort to look for you on my day off. I want to spend time with-"

Sakuya hugged Keima's neck. "It's okay. I should be the one to apologize." Sakuya stared at Keima for a second before slowly closing her eyes and moving her lips towards Keima. Keima braced himself for yet another uncomfortable kiss. Sakuya kissed Keima deeply, during which he smelled something familiar... Lilly of the Valley.  
After a few seconds which felt like years to Keima, Sakuya stood as if lightning had hit her as the loose soul had been expelled from her, after which she fell to the floor. Keima wiped his mouth then sighed. Elsie landed from the sky with a bottle in hand that had an green loose soul in it. Must've been green like envy, Keima thought.

"Nii-sama, good job! You sure do know how to calm down a raging storm. I'll call you "Storm Whisperer Kami-sam-"

"We're not done yet." Keima went toward the mansion entrance. "Bring Sakuya to her room and then I'm gonna put an end to this route."

"Roger!" Elsie saluted, then commanded her hagoromo to wrap around Sakuya's limp body.

Keima pulled the gargantuan wooden doors which made a hollow shifting noise when moved. He saw Meiling lying on the floor, breathing heavily. Keima was glad she was still alive.

"Hey Meiling." Keima shook her, trying to wake her up. "Time to wake up."

"Mnnnnh... Shut up..." Meiling was surprisingly rude when woken up.

"Hey, it's me." Keima sat Meiling up. "Get up."

"Ah, Keima!" Meiling wide awake, instantly hugged Keima's neck. "Where's Sakuya?"

"Don't worry. I defeated her. I couldn't forgive someone who hurt you." Keima flexed his muscles. "So I taught her a lesson, y'know?"

"Keima..." Meiling started to tear. "You risked your neck for me?"

"Sure." Keima sounded reassuring.

"I was wrong about guys..." Meiling wiped tears from her face. "Thanks for all that."

"Well... I had another reason for why I saved you too." _Now time to end this stupid route. _"No, nevermind..."

"Huh? No, say it!" Meiling obviously knew what Keima was going to say.

"Ehh..." Keima played the shy boy charade. He didn't think it would work on Meiling at first, but it seemed she reacted well to it.

"Come oooon! Tell me!"

"Well, I'm gonna quit today, so it doesn't matter." Keima decided to drag on the charade just a bit longer.

"It matters to me!" Meiling was awfully anxious about what Keima was going to say. Keima was almost having fun with this.

"Well, I couldn't let someone I like die. I can't have that thought in my head." Keima said finally.

"Keima." Meiling got up on her feet and stared at him. "I like you too."

"So-" Keima was violently grabbed up to Meiling by his arm. He swore she had to strength to rip off any limb she wanted.

"Since you're leaving today, I uh..." Meiling still grabbed onto Keima's arm.

"Ow." She was tightening her grip on Keima's arm.

"Um..."

"Ow ow ow!" Keima let it known that his arm was hurting.

"Ah, sorry!" Meiling quickly let go of Keima's arm.

"It's fine." His arm started to bruise. "What were you saying?"

"I wasn't gonna say anything." Meiling said. Keima was shocked. She confessed but isn't going to do anything? "No, I wasn't gonna say anything. I was gonna _do_ something." Meiling pulled Keima by his arm violently and his nose hit her face. Keima still didn't know the science of the loose souls and the relation it had with the timing of the kiss. Meilings kiss lasted around 10 seconds, the longest Keima remembers. After she broke the kiss, she stared at Keima for a second. Meiling's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell to the floor, making a loud thump in the amphitheater-like foyer. The loose soul made for the entrance of the mansion, but as soon as it reached the outside, it was sucked upward. Elsie descended down and held up a bottle with an orange loose soul.

"I knew you could do it, Nii-sama! I knew you could do a double capture!" Elsie beamed.

"If this were in a game, let me tell you it would not sell 10 yen." Keima said, obviously tired. "If that's it, then I guess we leave."

"Right now? We haven't quit yet!" Elsie said.

"Well, you forget that when they come to they'll forget all about us. We never worked here in their minds. It's best to just leave now and go to Reimu's."

"If you say so. Let me get Meiling up to her room, then we'll leave."

"Very well."

_-3 minutes later-_

"Okay, let's go!" Elsie said, hovering outside the mansion.

"Yes, let's. I want to forget this ever happened. A lot of senseless violence happened that I wish didn't." Keima said, posing to get ready for Elsie's hagoromo to wrap around him.

"Don't worry, Nii-sama. I'm sure the conquests from here on in will be easier. Soon, we won't have anymore loose souls to catch here and we can get home to mother!" Elsie said, smiling from ear to ear.

Keima looked at Elsie. She had always been there to reassure Keima. She was becoming more and more like a little sister. "How do you do it, Elsie."

"Do what?"

"Stay so positive. Don't you see that life is just a shitty game?"

"That shouldn't get you down, Nii-sama! It's all about knowing that it only gets better when times are harsh!"

Keima smiled. She was really like a protagonists sidekick. "Idiot."

"Hey, Nii-sama! Don't call me an idiot!" Elsie whined.

"Iiiidiot!" Keima said.

"Nii-sama!" Elsie loosened the hagoromo to scare Keima.

"Like that's gonna work on me." Keima didn't fall for it.

"Oh, Nii-sama... Please don't change."

"Gods never change." Keima said. "They only get better at their craft. In my case, it's capturing."

"Yeah, the God of Conquest, right?"

"Yep. Don't forget it."

Reimu's shrine was visible from the break of trees. The torii gates pretty much said LAND HERE.

"We're almost there, Nii-sama." Elsie said.

"Yeah, time to see who's next." Keima groaned. "Hopefully, the next conquest won't try and kill me."

* * *

**WOWZA! This is my longest chapter to date! Keima successfully captured two girls at once! Both within short time windows! There's just no stoppin' this kid, is there? Next chapter : The next conquest?**


	20. Back To The Drawing Board

**Last chapter, the tiring and confusing conquest of Sakuya and Meiling ended. We join Keima and Elsie, going to meet Reimu at her shrine to discuss who's next.**

* * *

_Knock Knock Knock_

Shuffling from inside the shrine could be heard. Strong shuffling.

"Hold on a sec." The voice definitely did not belong to Reimu. "Ugh, dammit! Move!" More shuffling. A thump hit the shoji door before it slid open. A green haired girl dressed similarly to Reimu opened the door. Her hair was in every direction and the stench of alcohol quickly took over the air. "Who're you?"

"Ehh... Hello! We're here to-" Elsie was cut off.

"No, not you. Him! Who's he? No guys -hic- allowed." The green haired girls' eyes started to flutter. "Just go away."

"You had a party, didn't you?" Keima asked to spark up a conversation. "Smells like you all had a fun time."

"What's it to ya?" The girl looked more and more tired as she spoke. "Jush go awa... awa..."

"Hmph" Keima said, watching the girl fall to the ground to sleep. "Now then, shall we?"

The scene was rather dead. Keima counted 10 girls on the ground, out cold. He recognized Marisa, Keine and Eirin. It was as if fate wanted Keima to see them again out of spite. Reimu lay in the middle of the sea of females, face on the floor. Keima kneeled down, "Hey, wake up. We have work to do."

Reimu still lay motionless on the floor. She wasn't gonna wake up by normal means. Keima nodded at Elsie, who commanded her hagoromo to turn into a feather. Elsie carefully placed the feather on top of Reimu's nose and moved it around. It took a few seconds before her nose started to twitch, then her hand slapped her face. The slap quickly rose Reimu from her sleep, after which she looked around at the mess then at Keima. "Ugh... What do you want."

"Nice to see you, too. We got work to do." Keima stood up.

"Can't you see there's kind of a big mess? It's gonna take forever to get all of them out of here." Reimu rubbed her head.

"Elsie?" Keima nodded at Elsie again. She commanded her hagoromo to envelop all of the girls surrounding Keima and Reimu. The weight of the girls altogether was too much to move them far, so Elsie dumped them outside. Even in the sunlight, they lay still.

"Good job." Keima patted Elsie's head. "Now then, to the issue at hand. Notice anything out of the ordinary with any girls?"

"Can we do this later, man? My head is frickin' killing me." Reimu kept rubbing her temples.

"No, not really. Besides, this shouldn't take more than a few minutes if you cooperate." Keima sat down.

"Fine. Yesterday, Byakuren came over to talk about the usual religious nonsense. We're somewhat acquaintances for the sole reason that we both are religious maidens. Anyway, that's irrelevant. Getting back to the issue, she did express some sadness over the morale in her temple."

"I'm just gonna pretend to know who Byakuren is. Anyway, is it everyone in her temple with the low morale? A few people? One person?" Keima asked.

"Heh, you're lucky this time. It's one person who's making everyone else sad around her. Her name is Mamizou."

"Mamizou? What's she look like?"

"Well, she looks like a raccoon although her species is a bake-danuki. Don't get the two mixed up, she's pretty sensitive about that. As for other physical features, she's tall, the only brunette besides Byakuren. She's well-endowed and she's the only one who has raccoon ears."

"You could've saved me some time and just said that she had raccoon ears."

"Don't get testy, I'm trying to help with this damn headache."

"Yeah yeah. So, where is this temple of hers?" Keima asked.

"Uhhh..." Reimu turned her body to point to the direction of the temple. "Thatta way. It's big and made of wood. You can't really miss it."

"Cool. We'll get to it right away. I have to get all these conquests done quickly."

"Huh? Why?" Reimu asked, intrigued.

"I did some thinking... Christmas is in a few days." Keima said.

"Whaaaat? Christmas is in a few days?!" Elsie exclaimed.

"Christmas. That's that holiday Sanae keeps talking about." Reimu lay back down on the floor. "Guess you should get to it then."

"Yeah, thanks for the info. I'll get this done." Keima got up and headed toward the door. "Come on, Elsie."

"R-right!" Elsie floated toward Keima's side.

The sun put a strain on Keima and Elsie's eyes. They had only been in there for a few minutes, but the darkness had affected their eyes. Keima nodded at Elsie to start flying. The flight had been without conversation. Both knew the seriousness of getting back home. Mari Katsuragi would have to spend Christmas without her children and just that alone left a bad taste in Keima's mouth. For Keima, it was more of a time-attack situation: finish the job in the shortest amount of time possible. For Elsie, it was different. For the first time in a while. Elsie had a family to actually spend a holiday with, let alone a human holiday. This Mamizou girl sounded like she would be easy enough, for Keima had dealt with depressed girls many times, in games and in the real world. After this, if there were any more conquests, Keima vowed to get them done in record time so to return back home in time for Christmas. This game, Keima decided, was a shitty game after all. A game that would be done after a few days.

* * *

**Oh man. Christmas? Well, this does take place in winter in Maijima City. Mamizou is the next conquest, and Keima and Elsie are headed to Byakuren temple to take on the soul that has taken over her body. NEXT CHAPTER : Mamizou Part 1!**


	21. The Tanuki and the Out-of-Place Duo

**Christmas is right around the bend in Maijima City yet Keima and Elsie are stuck in Gensokyo! Keima vowed to get all the conquest done so he can spend the holiday with his mother. Last Chapter, we found out that Mamizou was the next girl in need of capturing! We join the duo as they begin to conquer!**

* * *

The temple's roof stuck out from the thick brush of trees. The temple had enough area to be a small city and was tall enough to be a castle. Keima and Elsie landed right at what looked like the doorstep of the temple. There was nothing but silence.

"Do you think anyone's in here? There's no lights..." Elsie said, peering into a window.

"Well, let's find out." Keima knocked on the door. Almost instantly, movement could be heard from inside. Locks started clicking. From what Keima heard, it sounded like three locks. The door tipped open.

"Yes?" A high-pitched voice came from inside.

"Hello. Is Mamizou inside?" Keima said, trying not to sound suspicious.

"Who's asking? Wait a sec, is that a man?" The door opened wider, revealing a short grey-haired girl with round ears on them.

"...The cosplaying gets worse the more girls I conquer..." Keima whispered to himself.

"Who're you two? What are you doing here? We're closed, don'cha see?" The short girl said.

"It's rather important we talk with Mamizou. We're here on business with her." Keima lied.

"Hmph, Byakuren-sama said I'm not to let anyone in but if you're here on business, I guess you can come in." The little girl walked down the hall, making Keima and Elsie follow her.

"While we are a temple, it's not often we get visitors. Are you from the Human Village? That's pretty far away if you are. How is it there? I haven't been there for a while." She was very talkative. "Ah, I'm Nazrin, by the way. Who are you guys?"

"I'm-" Keima suddenly remembered his conquest with Eirin. He let everyone know who he was. As soon as Eirin came to, everyone must've been talking about the boy she went to the festival with. He can't afford to make acquaintances with everyone only to remind Mamizou of him if this conquest is successful. "My name is Satoshi." He went with a generic name.

"Ah, cool name. You?" Nazrin asked Elsie.

"My name is E-"

"Her name is Elly. She's my sister." Keima interrupted, lest Elsie mess up his plan.

"Elly, huh? Sounds foreign." Nazrin stopped walking. "This is her room. She's a little sick, so please excuse her if she's a little moody."

"Will do. Thanks." Keima said. Nazrin walked away.

"Nii-sama, why the name Satoshi?" Elsie asked as soon as she was certain Nazrin was gone.

"Remember Eientei? How I let everyone know who I was? It wasn't smart of me to conquer her and leave while everyone knew my name. Think about the confusion Eirin must've had when everyone reminded her about the boy she went to the festival with after her memory was wiped."

"Woooowww! You're so smart, Kami Nii-sama! I would never have come up with that!" Elsie squealed.

"Naturally. You are a stupid demon, after all. It would've been beyond you to think of something like that!" Keima smiled mildly. He then turned to the door and knocked three times.

The noise of shuffling Keima was all too used to could be heard from behind.

**"DORO DORO DORO DORO DORO DORO!" **Elsie's beret went off, not a moment too soon. She placed a hand on it to shut it off.

"Yes?" said a gentle voice.

"Hello, may we come in?" Keima became nervous. He didn't think of the plan this far.

"Is that a male? We haven't had one of those let alone a visitor in a while." Footsteps were heard approaching the door. The door slid open and revealed a towering, well-endowed brown haired girl. A woman would've been a more appropriate word to describe her. She wore glasses and had the bushiest ringed tail Keima and Elsie had ever seen on a person, although not many people they knew had tails.. "Oh, hello. I don't believe we've met."

"Hello. I am here to take care of you. My name is Satoshi and this is my assistant, Elly." Keima introduced themselves to her, hoping she'd fall for this ploy.

"Another caretaker? If that's so, I hope my health won't be a problem. My name is Mamizou. Please take very good care of me." Her formalities flustered Keima. Keima knew He had seen this kind of girl in many a game, but not as often as he had seen the more common kinds like the typical tsundere, or the quiet girl.

"Y-yes. Well then, let's talk more in your room. Elly, give us a minute please." Keima turned toward Elsie, winking at her.

"Very well. I will be back later." Elsie tried to sound professional.

Elsie walked out of the room, pretending to write in a notepad made by her hagoromo. As she walked out, Keima thought now was as good of a time as any to get the conquest underway.

"Now then, Mamizou is it? if you could clarify as to what seems to be ailing you?" Keima asked in his best doctorly voice.

"Oh, I just feel weak, is all... I don't see why Byakuren-sama is making such a big deal out of this. I'm fine, really." Mamizou was a good liar. There were obvious bags under her eyes, she looked pale, and her voice sounded nasally.

"Byakuren didn't send us. Your concerned friend, Reimu, sent us. She told us that you were under the weather." Keima said, to avoid any confusion from Byakuren if she said she didn't send a doctor.

"Reimu-san? She's concerned about me? My, she's sweeter than I had originally thought. I also never knew she had any male friends besides Rinnosuke."

"Well, I've known Reimu for a short time. In that short time, we've become acquaintances." Keima said. "Anyway, back to the issue at hand, do you have any... supernatural ailments?"

"Supernatural? What do you mean?" Mamizou's ears perked up.

"Well, you wouldn't happen to have anything 'magical' happening to you, would you?" Keima thought about what he had just said. Magical, what an unprofessional way of putting it.

"Oh, no. I highly doubt this is the work of magic. It feels like a common cold."

Keima now realized why her past caretakers had left. She seems to be hiding what's ailing her and they just gave up. "Is that so? I'll have to see what I have for the common cold." Keima then called out for Elsie.

"Yes?" Elsie asked.

"Please find Mamizou some cold medicine, please." Keima said, knowing she would whip up something with her hagoromo.

"Right away." Elsie walked back outside.

As soon as she was gone, Keima started to talk. "Listen, Mamizou. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's really wrong with you. Forgive me if it sounds like I'm being intrusive but you seem to be hiding something from me."

"I'm not hiding anything!" She yelled as though she had been told the exact same thing before. Mamizou, realizing she had yelled too loud, composed herself. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

"No no, it's fine. It sounds like to me that you've been told the same thing by others before. I'll just go and get the medicine. See if it does anything." Keima started for the sliding door. "I'll be back."

"Okay, I'm going to rest my eyes." Mamizou laid down on her bed.

...

Elsie was just outside the door, waiting just in case Keima came out. "Everything alright? I heard some yelling."

"She's hiding something from me. She says she's weak but I have reason to believe it's more than that. Do you have the medicine?"

"Um, there's bad news. My hagoromo can make medicine but it's only a placebo. It won't do anything."

"That's fine. We didn't come here to free the soul with medicine anyway. I'll take the medicine." Keima took what looked like a containment bottle with a purple liquid in it.

"Nii-sama, I'll go introduce ourselves to the residents of the temple." Elsie's demeanor then changed. "Hey Nii-sama, are we really gonna be home by Christmas?"

"Depends. We may or may not because of how many conquests we have left. I know I promised, but looking at it now we may have one pissed off mother when we get back."

Elsie's head hung in disappointment. "Okay, let's just get these captures done, then we'll see about it!" Her voice didn't match her body language.

"Just hang tight. I'll give Mamizou the medicine. I'll be right out."

...

Keima slid open the door and walked inside. Mamizou was doing more than just resting her eyes. The blanket covered her petite body as she slept. Wait... Petite? She looked smaller than before.

"Hey, Mamizou." No answer. She was out cold. "Mamizou, wake up I have the medi-" Keima put his hands on her back to shake her awake, before his suspicions were answered. She _was _smaller. Being careful not to wake her, he removed the blanket. Her body was small, like that of a child's. As far as Keima was concerned, she was a child.

"Nnnngh..." Mamizou started to wake up. "What?"

Keima was just staring. How did she get so small? Was it the loose soul? "Um, Satoshi?" Her voice was significantly higher and her glasses were way too big for her face.

"M-Mamizou, you need to look in the mirror." Keima said.

"Geez, I know I look bad but-" Mamizou turned to look at the mirror by her bed. "GAAAAH!"

"Please calm down! We- I-" Keima, for the first time in a while, was at a loss for words.

"What happened?! Did you do this?" Mamizou started feeling her ears, chest and face.

"No! I just came back in! I saw you were smaller so I took off the blanket and saw you like this!"

"Satoshi-san, is everything alright?!" Elsie then stared at Mamizou's small body. "You're smaller... What..?"

"Elly, there seems to be some magic taking over her body." Keima winked to let Elsie know it was the work of a soul.

"I see." Elsie then smiled. The conquest was in motion.

* * *

**A loose soul that's affecting Mamizou's age?! How will this work out?! Will I ever finish this fanfic?! Man, I hope not! Next chapter : Mami-chan and Keima conquest START!**


	22. Mami Mami-chan!

**Last chapter, we found out that the loose soul residing in Mamizou is affecting her physical stature. She's now a kid! This'll prove to be quite troublesome... Back to the conquest already in progress!**

* * *

"Okay, okay! Let's calm down and think about this for a second..." Keima didn't know what to do. It looked like Mamizou had gotten worse under his watch and he knew the other residents of the temple wouldn't approve of the sudden change. "Did you feel anything weird while you were asleep?" Stupid question, but it would get Mamizou's mind off of what just happened.

"Not in particular," Mamizou was still feeling her body to see what changed. "I just went to sleep and this happened. Do you think it might have anything to do with that?"

"It might. You might have to go back to sleep. Why don't you try doing that?" Keima said in a gentle tone.

"Um, it's easier said than done, Doctor." Mamizou started to grab her tail and rub it. "It's not like I can make myself go to sleep."

"Right. I should've guessed as much. Why don't we go and do something to pass the time until it's time to sleep?" Keima thought it was a better a time than any to raise the date flag.

"That sounds like a good idea. Honestly, anything to get my mind off of this would be a good idea." Mamizou started for the door. "Shall we?"

"Any place in particular you'd like to go?" Keima asked, sliding the door open for Mamizou.

"Actually, I'd like to visit the Human Village! I haven't been there in ages." Mamizou's face beamed. Keima noticed something of Mamizou's speech. When she had her normal body, she would speak in "old talk". She would say the old Japanese version of "I" and "we". Now, however, she speaks like a normal child. This may mean she's not only young structurally, but she's turning younger maturity-wise, Keima thought.

"Okay, let's do that." Keima said. "I'll go and tell Byakure-"

"No! Please, don't! What they don't know can't hurt them, right?" Mamizou pleaded.

"Y-Yeah but it would irresponsible to just take you out without notifying everyone." Keima said. "I'll just say we're going to go out to eat and the fresh air would do you some good."

"Uuuuuugh, I guess if you put it _that_ way." Mamizou pouted like a little girl who had been told no for the first time.

"How about we get ice cream afterward? I remember during my stay that there was a hell of a good parlor in the square." Keima said.

Elsie spoke up. "Oh, hey I remember that!"

"Gah! How long have you been there?! You're such a background character!"

"Geez, Nii-sama! Don't call me a 'background character' please!" Elsie pouted.

"My, you two are very comfortable for associates!" Mamizou giggled.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? She's my sister. I mean, she did call me Nii-sama. Sadly, she won't be able to go with us. She has work to do back at the office." Keima winked at Elsie again.

"Yes, I apologize. However, I will be here when you two get back. As a matter of fact, let me go and tell Byakuren and the rest that you two will be away for the day." Elsie bowed.

"Thank you, Elly." Keima nodded. "Now then, shall we be off?"

"Yes, please!" Mamizou jumped up and down.

...

The walk to the Human Village wasn't as long as Keima thought it would have been. At most, they had been walking about 20 minutes before the Village was within viewing range.

"So, where you do want to eat?" Keima felt in his pocket. He still had some of his pay money from the Inn owner from the Human Village.

"Hm, I remember there being a great soba shop last I went there. Let's go there. I'll show you!" Mamizou ran ahead.

"Woah, wait a sec!" Keima ran after. She was surprisingly nimble. "I can't lose you!"

The two reached the entrance of the Village and as usual, everyone was walking and running back and forth like a busy city. Not much, if anything, had changed since Keima was last there. "Don't... _huff_ ...run off... _huff_ ...like that!" Keima said, out of breath.

"Heehee, sorry sorry. But hey, look! I found the soba shop." Mamizou pointed to a shop that had drapes covering the windows. The legs of patrons could be seen. It was definitely lively inside. Keima and Mamizou walked in, had a seat, and read the keys they had to take for their order.

"I'll take the traditional soba. I never was a huge soba fan." Keima took a key and set it down at his seat.

"Pfffft! You're boring! I'll take Tanuki soba!" Keima couldn't help but chuckle at the poorly placed joke that Mamizou set him up for.

The soba was served almost instantly from the hotpots from behind the counter. One bowl was hot, one cold. Mamizou finished the soba in a matter of seconds, slurping loudly as she packed it all away. Keima was still trying to finish his first chopstick full of noodles. After a few minutes, Keima finished his bowl.

"Way to eat that stuff, Satoshi." Mamizou patted Keima's back.

_"Physical touch? Are we that far in already?" _Keima wondered. "Yeah, I know how to devour that stuff, even though I don't like it."

"Now then, you ready for that ice cream?" Mamizou jumped off from her seat.

Keima reached in his pocket. He had about enough for just one cone, not that he cared because he hated sweet things anyway. "Yeah, let's go.

The parlor was across the street from the soba shop. He payed for Mamizou's raspberry flavored ice cream and handed it to her.

"It's getting rather late. Wanna head back after this?" Keima asked.

Mamizou grabbed Keima's hand. "Not really, but I guess we gotta go." Mamizou looked up at Keima and smiled sweetly. He looked away, embarrassed.

The rest of the night ended without much excitement, and the two made for the temple at dusk. The path was poorly lit. Keima could barely distinguish the path from the grass. He stumbled with Mamizou holding onto his hand, making sure not to step on her bare feet.

"Goodness, it's pretty dark." Mamizou stumbled with him. "It'd be a problem if we got attacked."

"By those Youkai? Yeah, that would be troublesome. We're almost there, so I don't think we'll have to worry about that." Keima reassured her. Sure enough, the illuminated entrance of the temple was just in the horizon. As the two approached the temple, they noticed no lights were on.

"I apologize. Everyone in this temple sleeps early. My friend, Nue, is the one who stays up the latest but even this is late for her. We may have to climb in through my window."

"Sounds like you've done this before." Keima followed Mamizou around the back.

"It's true, I like to leave every now and then and visit places. This is the first time I left to go to the Human Village in a while though. Here." Mamizou took off the screen of the window and climb inside. Keima hoisted himself up and stumbled inside after her. Elsie was knocked out asleep on Mamizou's bed, breathing heavily.

"Hey Elly, wake up. We gotta go." Keima nudged her.

"It's perfectly fine, you can stay in my room. I won't mind." Mamizou said. She teased, "It'd certainly be the first time I'd have a male sleeping in my room."

"Oh. Thanks. It's not that late, though. We can still make it back to... the office." Keima almost slipped up and said 'back to the shrine'.

"At least let me repay you for taking me out today. It was almost like-" Mamizou paused. "Yeah, I had fun."

"That's good. We'll take you up on your offer then. Thanks." Keima said. Mamizou then walked up to a dresser by the sliding door and took out two futons. She laid them down, fluffed up both of the integrated pillows and got in one.

"Wait, aren't you gonna kick Elly off your bed?" Keima asked. The futon was dangerously close to his.

"Oh, heavens no! Look at her! She looks so peaceful on my bed. I'd much rather she enjoy her sleep." Mamizou fluffed her tail and placed it next to her. "Now then, if you're going to stay up try not to be too loud."

"Right. Good night." Keima said.

"Good night, Satoshi." Mamizou said, taking off her glasses and placing it next to her futon. She closed her eyes and deeply exhaled.

Keima stared at her for the longest time. She looked peaceful, but conflicted. Her facial expression changed numerous times while she slept. Finally, she spoke again.

"Satoshi, how old are you?" She asked, her eyes still close.

"Seventeen. Why?"

"I remember what boys were like at 17. That's unusually young for a doctor." Crap, she knows. "That's all I wanted to know. Good night." Keima can't believe she tricked him like that. There goes the conflict in this conquest. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

* * *

**OHHHHH! CRAP! She knows! What will Keima do?! How will Mamizou react?! Will Elsie get her lazy ass off of Mamizou's bed?! Next chapter : Part 2**


	23. Sake

**Mamizou tricked Keima into revealing his age. She realized he was much too young to be a doctor. Will this hinder his progress with Mamizou? Let's get back into the conquest!**

* * *

Keima stirred from his sleep. His pillow was awfully fluffy. He felt another pillow on his face. Only when he woke up did he realize the pillow he was on was Mamizou's puffy hair that somehow made it's way under his head and the pillow on his face was her bushy nice-smelling tail. Mamizou's face was extremely close to Keima's face. He could tell what she smelled like, a strange mixture of flowers and fresh cut grass. It was strangely satisfying. Keima bolted right up, pulling her hair as he shifted his head away from her.

"Kyaaaa! Ow ow ow!" Mamizou got up and rubbed her head. "What's wrong?"

"Ahem. Nothing. It was nothing." Maybe it was by accident, Keima thought.

"Nnnnghh... You two are really loud early in the morning." Elsie got up, eyes still closed.

"Good morning, Elly. Would you two care for breakfast?" Mamizou said, still rubbing her temples.

"Mmmm... Sure sure..." Elsie was still half asleep.

"Sure." Keima said.

"Let's go. You two haven't met the others yet, have you?" Mamizou's small body tottered to the sliding door.

_"I wonder how they'll take her sudden body change." _Keima thought.

...

The two made their way down the hall and approached a small square in the middle of the temple. It had sliding doors from all sides and chatter could be heard from the inside.

"Here we are. Excuse my friends if they seem... weird. They've never seen a male before, some of them." Mamizou said, opening the door to the dining room. As soon as the door was fully slid open, the talking ceased completely. All the girls stared at Keima. Some glances were given toward Elsie, but it was obvious that Keima was the center of attention at this point in time.

"Hello. I am Satoshi. I am Mamizou's caregiver." Keima said. The center of attention then became Mamizou. There were amused glances towards her. It was only after the sudden realization that she was small that a black haired winged girl got up.

"Oh my god! Mamizou's a midget!" The girl said.

"Um, right. About that, it happened after I woke up from a nap. Seems like this cold is not a common cold, but magic." Mamizou explained.

"Magic? Who did it to you?" A blonde haired girl asked.

"I dunno. This might just have to do with the border getting weaker, or this might just be youkai sickness. Satoshi here assures me that this will pass like a cold." Mamizou smiled to reassure the ladies.

"Well, if you put it that way. We'll just wait this off. It's just weird that you're small and have a high-pitched voice all of a sudden. Also, those glasses are way too big for your head now." The winged black haired girl said.

"Satoshi," Mamizou ignored the girl's teasing. "The rude one there is Nue. The blonde is Shou. That's Nazrin. She's Ichirin. It seems like Byakuren, Kyoko and Murasa aren't here. I'll introduce you when they come."

"Nice to meet you all." Keima was handed a bowl for the hotpot in the middle of the table by Mamizou.

"Let's eat up. You too, Elly." Mamizou handed her a bowl.

...

"Oh my... -_hic- _I ate waaaay too much!" Nue rubbed her stomach.

The rest of the girls, Elsie included, were way too full to move. Nazrin fell out of her seat.

"That's the last time I eat that much. Gahhhh..." Nazrin started to crawl for the door.

"Well then," Mamizou finished her 9th bowl of donburi. "Satoshi, Elly. Shall we be off?"

"Huh? Where are we going?" Elsie asked.

"I thought we would go out to walk again. I could use the exercise after this."

Elsie decided to help Keima out, "I-I can't. I'm way too full. I need at least an hour to digest. Please don't mind me. Nii-sama will keep you company."

Keima gave Elsie a look of approval "Take your time, Elly. I'm ready to leave when you are, Mamizou." After Keima said this, the girls started woo'ing.

"Oh, shut up. It's just a walk." Mamizou turned and walked to the door.

_"My, do you think Satoshi-senpai has a thing for smaller girls? I'd watch out if I were you, Nazrin." _Nue whispered to Nazrin.

Keima pretended he didn't hear that and walked out with Mamizou.

"Well, then. Let us be off." Mamizou held on to Keima's hand. At this point, Keima didn't think too much of it.

"Kinda weird to have donburi and hotpot for breakfast, isn't it? I'd much expect some omurice or something more traditional."

"Omurice? What's that?" Mamizou looked at him.

"It's a dish they serve in the Human Village" Keima said. He was pretty sure that since it was served in the outside world that it would be served there as well.

"Oh, speaking of that, would you like to go there again?"

"Sure." Keima said.

The walk lasted no longer or shorter than it did last time. As time passed, Keima started to realize Mamizou was inching closer to him. He couldn't tell if she knew she was. The closeness made it hard for Keima to walk without stepping on her feet. He also noticed she was holding his arm tighter to her.

"This is uncomfortable." Keima said.

"It is? Geez, you have a pretty girl holding on to you and all you say is 'this is uncomfortable'? I'd be more grateful if I were you." This time Mamizou nudged her small breasts on his arm. Keima decided to soldier on with the torture, lest he jeopardize the conquest by turning her off.

"Is this the little girl in you doing the acting? I hope you do realize that doctor-patient relationships are strictly prohibited." Keima tried to sound smart.

"Satoshi, do you perhaps think I like you?" Mamizou smiled coyly.

"Anyone in my position would think so." Keima said.

"Heh. I'm merely toying with you." Mamizou said unconvincingly.

"Right." The two approached the gates of the village. "We're here, again. What do you want to do?"

"Wanna walk in the park? I imagine you're still full after that breakfast. It'd be best to walk it off." Mamizou interlaced her fingers in Keima's hand.

"Um, sure." Keima started to feel uncomfortable again. _"Am I close to the ending? I can't be, this conquest just started."_

The silence lasted a few minutes before Keima spoke up, "Hey Mamizou, are you mad?"

"At what?" Mamizou didn't look at Keima and gripped his hand harder.

"You just seem a little pissed. I'm only wondering." Keima looked at her, trying to figure out what exactly she was thinking about.

"No. I'm not angry at all." She gripped his hand harder.

"Could've fooled me." He muttered. "So, do you feel any change with your stature?"

"No, I'm still a little girl. I guess I should admit that it takes a huge weight off my chest, literally." The joke was lost on Keima. When they reached the square, Keima stopped walking and looked at Mamizou.

"So. What would you like to do?" Keima asked.

"Want to get a drink?" Mamizou pointed southbound to a road with more stalls than buildings. Keima recalled his recent bout with alcohol last time he came to the Human Village for a conquest involving a certain schoolteacher.

"Um," Keima had to think for a little bit. He swore he wouldn't go through all that headache again. This was for the conquest. For the conquest! "Sure, let's go. Do you think you'll get in with your current look?"

"I'm a regular, they'll know who I am." Mamizou smiled.

"If you say so." Keima let Mamizou lead the way.

Soon, the two approached the stand with a curtain over it hiding the other regulars inside. When Mamizou opened up the flap, the overwhelming stench of alcohol whooshed out. Yelling of orders and replies that weren't heard before were plentiful. Those curtains did a hell of a job keeping out sound, Keima though.

"Hi, Jiro. We'll take a number 2." Mamizou said to the tender.

"Mami-sa-" The tender looked but didn't see anyone behind his counter beside Keima. He looked over the counter and saw the now-small Mamizou. "Mami-chama?"

"Yes, sorry. I recently had a cold that made me the way I am. I hope this doesn't affect the service I get." The was an edge to Mamizou's voice.

"No, no. Not at all! You're always welcome here." The tender went back and reached inside his cooler. "A number 2 was it? Here you go." He pulled out two jugs with the kanji for sake. They were filled to the brim. They were set in front of Keima and Mamizou.

The tender beckoned Keima to the sidelines. "Tell me true, boy. Are you two steady?" There was a crooked smile on his face.

"I- Um..." Keima was caught by surprise by the sudden question.

"It's okay. No need to answer. Just please, take care of her. She's been in a lot of fights and..." The tender stopped. "She's not well liked as much as she used to be."

"Hmph." Keima scoffed. So that was also the reason she had a loose soul. Keima had come to realize this rather early, but it was the bartender that confirmed his suspicions. "Don't worry about her. She seems to be doing fine."

"Yeah, I guess. Let's go back and not keep the little miss waiting." The tender laughed for no reason to make it look like the two were talking about something completely unrelated. Keima went back to his seat to the giant jug of cold sake.

"Everything alright?" Mamizou asked.

"Uh, yeah. Everything's fine. Just catching up." Keima lied.

"Cool, cool." Mamizou upended her jug which, to Keima, looked out of place to see a small girl drink such a giant jug of sake. She slammed the jug down on the counter.

"That was fast." Keima drank sips as to not get too drunk. After a while, he couldn't take the bitter taste anymore. He passed it to Mamizou to finish off. She drank the rest in what looked like one huge gulp. She looked at him and smiled after she finished.

"Satoshiiiii~" Mamizou slurred. "Carry me back." She lifted her arms as if asking to be picked up."

"No. You're not _that_ out of it." Keima looked at her closely. "Are you?"

"Oh, come on. You don't wanna carry me?" Her oversized glasses were falling from her face. She made an attempt to correct them, but instead the dropped on her lap. Keima went to reach for it, but Mamizou's hands slapped on top of his so plant them on her lap.

"You sly dog. Wait until we get back at least." Mamizou said coyly. The other patrons looked on with smiles. The tender started to chuckle.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm only trying to get your glasses." Keima waved them in front of her face. "See?"

"A good cop-out. I know what you're really after." Mamizou probably didn't know what she was saying, Keima thought.

"Let's go back to the temple." Keima said.

"Yes. Let's." Mamizou was still waving her arms. "I'll see you gentlemen later."

Keima had no choice but to carry her on his back. She was much lighter than he thought she would be. It almost felt as though he were carrying nothing. Her legs were soft against his hands and her head rested lightly on his back.

The walk back was uneventful, as Mamizou snored softly on his back. He slid open the temple doors and walked toward Mamizou's room. He had to walk over a knocked-out Nazrin who was sleeping beside the door. There was chattering heard in the back of the temple and Keima walked toward the noise after he laid Mamizou to rest on her bed. When he walked in, he noticed that the food from this morning had been replenished from their then-empty plates. Elsie still sat there, mouth gaping. She seemed to have eaten more than her fill.

"Ah, Satoshi! Hello! How was the walk?" A brunette with purple highlights asked from the head of the table.

"Hello, erm-" Keima didn't know this girl.

"Oh, pardon me. My name is Hijiri. Hijiri Byakuren. I'm the head priestess of this temple. I've heard that a doctor was visiting for Mamizou. Poor girl, she's been very sick these past few days and to top it all off she's a little girl again!"

"Yes, I must admit I'm stumped. I didn't think that she would get worse, but turns out I was wrong. Do not worry, I'll have her fine by the time I leave."

"I thank you for helping." Byakuren's facial expression changed. "I have heard things about you two getting along very well. Your sister tells me you're quite the doctor AND ladies' man."

Keima glared at Elsie but she wasn't looking. She was still staring up at the ceiling, looking dead. She must have really eaten a whole lot.

"I wouldn't say that. I'm rather bad at talking to women." Keima tried to change the subject. "Anyway, I must ask something. When we were at the Village, someone told me Mamizou has trouble talking to others."

"Oh, yes. She's rather... How should I say this?" This time, it was a black haired girl in a sailor suit talking. She had scruffy black hair that looked like the hair of a swimmer. "She's really _off_ with the times, you know?"

"Pardon Murasa. What she meant to say is that Mamizou is the mother figure of this temple. She's very _old-fashioned_." Byakuren shot a stare at Murasa.

"What?" Murasa peeped.

"I see. I think this may be more of a disease of lifestyle than a disease of viruses or colds." Keima tried to word it better, but there was no better wording for it.

"Disease of lifestyle? Please clarify." Byakuren opened her eyes.

"Very well." Keima prepared to explain the process of loose souls to the ladies.

* * *

**Ah! It's been a long time since I last wrote a chapter. Sorry! I've been busy with school and all that!**

**The conquest of Mamizou is nearing its end now that Keima knows what caused the gap in her heart to begin with! Next chapter: Climax?!**


	24. It's Them (Part 1)

**Let's not waste anytime! Let's go and delve into the end of Mamizou's conquest! Now to part 1 of the conquest ALREADY IN PROGRESS!**

* * *

"A loose soul is a demon from Hell that goes renegade. The 'loose' part of it means that it escaped Hell and goes to the surface to wreak havoc on the hearts of girls. I know what you're thinking, 'Why girls?' It's only for the fact that girls have weaker hearts, so to say. Their hearts are more vulnerable to stress than men are and so this is why the loose souls attack girls. Anyway, the loose souls affect girls differently. It really depends on the soul. I take it the soul taking over Mamizou's body is what's making her look so young. When we were at the bar, the tender who knew her told me that she had trouble making friends. This problem is what made what I like to call a 'gap' in her heart, giving the loose soul entrance."

"I see." Byakuren closed her eyes and rubbed her chin. "How do we go about ousting this loose soul?"

"There's no real way to say. There's many ways, but my method is... different."

Shou looked up. "Different? How?"

"Well, there has to be a feeling so strong that it overcomes the soul and forces it out of the heart. The feeling that I work best with is love."

The room was quiet for what seemed like the longest time. After a few seconds, a snort was heard then a booming laughter from all of the girls. Byakuren was the only one beside Keima and a knocked-out Elsie not laughing.

"Ladies, quiet." Byakuren said, cold as ice. "Love, did you say?"

"Yes. I've been doing this with many girls in Gensokyo. It seems there's an infestation of loose souls. here, though I haven't found out where the epicenter of it all is." Keima crossed his arms.

"So the only way for Mamizou to return to her normal state would be to fall in love with you?" Shou asked, climbing down from her laughing attack.

"Precisely. However, there seems to be one problem."

"Yes?" Byakuren opened her eyes slightly.

"She knows I'm not a doctor." Keima said.

"You're not a doctor?! I knew it! You looked way too young to be one. Didn't I call it, Kyoko?" Murasa said to a girl that Keima had not noticed before. She had green hair and wore a sort of pink sweater.

"Yes, Reimu told me. How is this a problem?" Byakuren asked.

"Well, think about it. I told Mamizou that I was a doctor. She found out that I was 17 and that alone should raise a red flag to anyone that they're not a doctor. I think I lost her trust."

"My, this seems troublesome." Byakuren cupped her cheek. "Is there any way we can help?"

"I think I'll have to abandon the doctor route. It'll be difficult but I'll have to change into someone else. I need any number of you willing to raise events that bring us closer together. Do you understand?"

"I understand completely. I got Nue over here paired together with some guy from the Human Village. I'm the best matchmaker. Leave it to me!" Murasa said proudly.

"Yeah, only that it lasted a few weeks." Nue blurted out.

"Any help will be appreciated. She's sleeping right now, so we'll have to start as soon as she wakes up. Understood?" Keima stood up.

"Understood!" The girls saluted and ran out the dining room. Only Byakuren remained.

"Keima, was it?" It seemed that Reimu told her his name as well. "I hope that you can bring our Mamizou back to us. She might have told you that we had other caretakers, but they all failed to help her. I have reason to believe that you'll be different." Byakuren got up and walked out. Her brown-purple hair sparkled in the sun shafts.

Keima stood there for a while. As long as he played his cards right and worked with all the other girls, he would finish this conquest by the end of the day. However, something about Mamizou being an outcast hit really close to home. Keima didn't really see how she could be lonely. She had the whole temple who loved her and a friend at the bar. It seemed to him that she was hitting it off with others really well. The past conquests, however, showed him that first looks were never final. Keima glanced over at Elsie then walked over to her.

"Hey, Elsie." Keima nudged her. She was sleeping. "Hey!"

"Huh?! Wha?!" She flailed her arms. "Ah, Kami Nii-sama! Welcome back!"

"Hey, how have you been?" Keima asked.

"Oh, you know. I've been eating a lot." Elsie had a bit of embarrassment in her voice.

"Clearly. I'm almost done with this conquest so you can just relax for now. The others are going to help so it's just a matter of time."

"No surprise." Elsie giggled. "That's to be expected of my Nii-sama."

"Yeah..." Since the beginning of this adventure, Keima has slowly been feeling more brotherly toward Elsie. For the first time in a long time, he was happy that she was there. He made for the door. "Hey, Elsie."

"Yes?" Elsie started to get up as well.

"Have I told you thanks since we've been here?" Keima was almost too embarrassed to ask.

"Huh? Eh, um, no. I don't believe so."

"Well, thanks. I couldn't have gotten through these past few conquests without you." Then he left her there, mouth wide open.

...

"...zou"

"...Mamizou." She opened her eyes to see Keima sitting next to Mamizou's bed. As she rose, she felt an extremely sharp pain in her head.

"Agh, son of a bitch!" She cursed.

"Wow, that's a new one." Keima hadn't heard her lose her ladylike attitude like that. It was amusing to hear.

"Sorry, I forgot to drink some water before I slept and now I have a bitching headache!" She sat rubbing her temples.

"Here, I thought that would happen." Keima handed her a wooden cup of water.

"Ugh, thanks..." She took the water and swallowed it all. he let out a cry of relief.

"Better?" Keima asked.

"Better."

The room was overtaken with silence. All that could be heard was the birds chirping outside of her window in a nest.

"So..." Mamizou turned away from Keima and looked out the window. "I'm still little, huh?"

"Seems like it." Keima admitted.

"And I'm guessing there's no way to get any better?"

"I wouldn't say that there's no way. I think for now you should just let me take you out like we have been doing for a while."

Mamizou whipped her head toward Keima with droplets of tears in her eyes. She must have started to tear while staring out the window. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

Keima was taken by surprise. Did he seem that sullen? "What? No. Of course not. This isn't something you die from."

"Then why aren't you doing anything about this?" Mamizou raised her voice.

"Trust me when I say my sister and I are working our hardest to make sure you return back to your normal state." Keima tried to reassure her.

Mamizou rubbed her eyes. "Where's my glasses?"

"They're right here." Keima got her glasses from her dresser and handed them to her.

"Let's go." Mamizou suddenly seemed high in spirits again.

"Sure. Where?"

"To the village. You said you wanted to go out again."

"Don't you have a headache? Maybe you should sleep a little longer."

"No. I'm fine. I need to get up and walk. Get my mind off of things, you know?" Mamizou slipped on her sandals and her leaf hat topped with a bell that she always wore outside.

"Alright, I think that's what you need. Let's go." Keima walked toward the door.

"Wait." Mamizou called out. "I have to brush my tail. All this excitement and I still haven't taken care of my body."

"Okay, I'll wait outside." Keima opened the door.

"No. You can stay. I need help." Mamizou said.

Keima didn't expect her to let him stay to help her brush her tail. "Why? I don't think you need me to help you brush your tail. It's your tail."

"There are some spots even I can't reach with the brush." Mamizou handed him the brush. "Here. You can brush as hard as you like. It's not that sensitive."

Keima suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Can't you ask the other girls?"

"You're here aren't you?" Mamizou showed no sign of letting Keima leave without his help.

"Okay." He took the brush in hand.

Mamizou then unclipped and removed off her skirt, showing her panties. Keima yelped and jumped back.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing?!" Keima yelled.

"I need help brushing it. My skirt hides part of my tail and that part needs brushing, too. You're acting like you've never seen a girl's body before." Mamizou sounded annoyed.

Keima composed himself. He needed to seem professional. "Right, sorry. It just caught me off guard." He then brushed from top to bottom. Her tail was made of what seemed to be the softest hair on earth. The rings seemed to be rougher hair, but not by that much. From what he could feel, there were no twisted parts of hair or anything stopping the brushing. Her hair seemed perfectly fine. However, he brushed with no arguments. After he spent a few minutes on the top, he went to the part he dreaded. The bottom. He stopped.

"Is everything alright?" Mamizou turned her head.

"Yeah, sorry. You're just-" Keima thought he noticed earlier but wasn't sure. "You look younger than before. Just barely though."

"I know. When I woke up, I saw my hands. They were smaller. It's only going to get worse, isn't it?" Mamizou slouched.

"No, I won't let it." Keima said. "I promise you that."

Mamizou let out a light gasp. "I believe in you."

After Keima finished brushing her tail, Mamizou put on her skirt and clipped the top closed. At least she was becoming more comfortable with me, Keima thought.

"Would you like to go then?" Mamizou asked.

"Okay, let's go." Keima walked out and put on his shoes at the entrance. He opened the entrance for Mamizou and walked out after her. As he walked, he noticed from the corner of his eye a pair of circular grey ears. He then saw Nazrin pop her head up with pieces of leaves and brush tied to her head and arms. She gave him a thumbs up and went back down. He saw a speck in the air and saw Ichirin flying on a pink cloud. The cloud she was on was blowing the trees in front of them and made a perfect scenario of falling cherry blossoms and triangular leaves. Keima saw in front of him a girl, but she walked with such confidence. This didn't look like a girl who had no friends. Keima walked faster to catch up.

"Where to?" Keima asked.

"How about we eat today? I know a place where we can get food for free." Mamizou said, not waiting for a reply. She took Keima's hand in hers and pulled. They were running toward the village. After a minute, the sign welcoming visitors to the village was in sight. This was it. He was going to have to pull out all the stops today.

* * *

**ALRIGHT! Part 1 is done! Part 2 is the final part of this conquest, I promise! Let's see how it goes and if Keima can save Mamizou before she gets worse beyond saving! See you then.**


	25. It's Them (Part 2)

**Last chapter, Keima and his conqueree (Is that even a word?) were headed toward the Human Village on what Keima wants to make their last date. Will it be a happy end for Mamizou? **

* * *

"Well, here we are." Keima said. The look of the Human Village was the same as always. Bustling, with everyone running left and right and people peddling their goods. Men walked with wheelbarrows behind them full of grains. Women sat under the shade of their patio spinning silks and crafting wooden parasols. As Keima and Mamizou walked through the marketplace, Keima could have sworn he was called by at least 10 people to check out their wares. It seemed Mamizou was hell bent on making her way to the restaurant she wanted to go. She was rushing like an impatient child. "Calm down. We have plenty of time to get there."

"Geez, you're so slow!" Mamizou puffed her cheeks. "C'mon!"

Keima was sure he noticed before, but along with her growing younger her behavior changed from the lady she was when they first met to a child. She shortened her verbs more often and spoke in familiar Japanese rather than the polite she spoke with before. "Alright, alright. How far is this place?"

"It's right here." Mamizou pointed to a small building with the same curtains the bar had. TAKOYAKI AND RAMEN BAR was plastered on the curtain in big kana. Keima couldn't believe he missed it. The two opened the curtains and walked in, smelling the deet on the curtains to keep bugs out which was quickly overtaken by the smell of delicious takoyaki, beef, chicken, and other smells that were foreign to Keima's nose. Men of all sizes sat stuffing their faces after a hard day of work. It was midday and this was probably Gensokyo's version of rush hour. He saw that there were booths in the back that sat mothers in yukata feeding their children with spoonfuls of octopus ramen. It got Keima's stomach growling. He then noticed two girls sitting in the booths staring at him. It was Shou and Murasa. They gave him a thumbs up and sank their heads back behind their menus.

Mamizou tried to hoist herself up on top of one of the bar seats. Her tail twitched when she tried and hit a man on the arm. "Hey, what the hell?!" The man turned around and leered at Mamizou "Watch it!"

"My apologies!" Mamizou quickly stopped trying to hoist herself up, hugging her tail.

"Stupid youkai. All you do is..." The man walked away toward a booth, grumbling.

"Don't pay him any mind. He was a jerk." Keima walked to Mamizou's side.

"Yeah..." Mamizou sulked. "Stupid tail."

"Need some help getting up?" Keima asked.

"Yes, if you would be so kind." Mamizou raised her hands so she could be picked up. Keima thought she was still old enough to get strange looks from others after he helped her up. Keima knew she would have been more than capable of getting up the seat by herself if she didn't have a tail. He slid his hands under her arms and lifted her up. She was still pretty heavy. He set her on the seat and, thankfully, didn't get as many looks as he had thought he would. He sat down next to her. 'Thank you." Mamizou said.

...

After the two had a lunch-dinner of beef udon and octopus ramen, they left the bar and walked down the way they came. If it was possible to be drunk on ramen, they were. The two walked with their legs almost tripping on one another, taking care not to make the food go out the way it came in. The bowls served were about the size of American bowls. Maybe even bigger, Keima thought to himself. The sun was just dipping behind the mountains and it was slowly getting dark. The stars were barely visible.

"Wanna take a break? I can't walk too much right now." Keima asked in hopes of getting some alone time to talk to her.

"Yes, I can't either." Mamizou said, sitting down. The two stopped on top of a hill to sit down. After a deep breath, Mamizou sprawled out on the grass.

"That bad, huh?" Keima asked.

"Yeah, you bet." Mamizou said in her familiar Japanese.

Keima saw blonde hair behind a bush. It was obviously the only blonde in the temple : Shou. At this point, Keima didn't even need to look for any of the girls, as it became obvious where they were. He almost couldn't believe that Mamizou hadn't seen them yet.

"So, Satoshi. Tell me about more where you live. You never did tell me." Mamizou leaned toward him.

"Where I live? It's a small place. You wouldn't know it." Keima said, hoping to change the subject.

"Try me. I know all of Gensokyo." Mamizou said.

"That's just it. I don't live in Gensokyo." Keima said.

"You don't? Where-"

"I live in the Outside World. It's a city called Maijima. A nice picturesque city." Keima said, remembering the times he would camp out on the sidewalks of stores in the Wai Wai Road for a midnight release of a new galge.

"Maijima? That has the kanji for dance, island, and... uh..." Mamizou's age showed as she was trying hard to remember her kanji from middle school.

"_Shi. _It means city. That's obvious." Keima said.

"Right. Sorry. I haven't been to school in quite some time. Sorry." Mamizou said, blushing.

"It's fine." Keima stayed quiet. He decided to let her talk and ask questions.

"God, I'm tired." Mamizou pretended to sway.

"Take a nap, then we'll go back." Keima turned his head toward her. "It's fine. I won't be embarrassed."

Mamizou's eyes shot open. "Y-yeah." Then she laid her head on his arm. Her fluffy hair pushed against Keima. He could feel her ears tense as she leaned against him.

"Calm down. You don't have to be so tense. Take a nap." Keima said.

"Okay, sorry." Mamizou eased her head and her furry ears folded back.

Keima sat uncomfortably on the grass, looking up. Everything was according to plan. The girls didn't even help as much as they said they would. Sure, there was Ichirin and her cloud and Nazrin giving him a reassuring thumbs-up, whatever that was worth. Other than that, Keima hadn't received any help. Mamizou took a brief cat-nap that lasted for 10 minutes during which her glasses fell off many times. After the third time, Keima thought to hold them for her until she woke. Mamizou rubbed her eyes.

"How long was I out?" Mamizou asked.

"About 10 minutes, give or take." Keima answered.

"Oh..." Mamizou sounded disappointed.

Keima got up. "Ready to go?"

"Oh..." Mamizou still sat. "Yes."

Keima turned around to walk toward the direction of the temple whose roof showed in the distance. He stopped walking after a few steps when he didn't hear the flip-flopping of Mamizou's somewhat oversized sandals. He didn't say anything, he knew what was going to happen next.

"Don't you want to sit down a little longer?" Mamizou asked.

"No, my time with you is almost up. We'll have to make more progress with your sickness before I go."

"You're going? Wha- How? I mean, why? Are you busy with others?" Mamizou was stuttering her words.

"No, I've just spent a lot of time with you and not enough actually curing you. My time with you has been long enough and yes, I'll have to work on others." Keima said.

"Oh..." Keima thought he could hear Mamizou's voice breaking. "I see... So, this is the last night I have with you?"

"Probably." Keima said.

"Probably?" Mamizou's voice _was_ cracking.

"A doctor's schedule is never definite." Keima said.

"Okay." Mamizou hugged her legs. "Let's just sit here for now. Please."

Keima realized he wasn't going to finish the conquest in the temple, where he would have preferred. That way he wouldn't have to carry her far. He sat down.

"I need to ask you something." Keima said. "The bartender at the Village told me something?"

"Hm?" Mamizou's voice was muffled through her legs.

"He said..." Keima didn't quite know how to word it. "He said you didn't have many friends. Is this true?"

Mamizou sat silent. She didn't answer.

"If you don't want to answer, just sa-"

"Yes, he was telling the truth."

"But all the girls at the temple love you." Keima said.

"That's more of an obligatory love. I'm technically older than most of the girls at the temple."

"No, I spoke with them. Those girls adore you and look up to you." Keima said.

"Yeah, they love me enough to keep us company." Mamizou pointed at Shou's hair sticking out in the brush nearby. Her blonde head tensed and ducked down into the bush

"So you knew. I was wondering why you didn't catch on sooner."

"Of course I knew. I'm not blind." Mamizou's head peeked out of her legs. "Well, sort of." She said as she toyed with her glasses that was given back by Keima.

"Aside from the temple girls, is anyone else giving you trouble?" Keima pressed on.

"I took you for a doctor, not a psychiatrist." Mamizou giggled.

Keima didn't laugh. "Is anyone else giving you trouble?" Keima repeated.

"It's because I'm old fashioned." Mamizou said.

"Huh?"

"People don't like me because I'm old fashioned. I don't keep up with the new trends or the younger kids' jokes. They look at me and think '_Wow! She's old'_ or '_Man, she's seen some things.'_ Honestly, it's quite infuriating!" Mamizou started to yell.

Keima didn't say anything. Like himself, Mamizou was thought of as different because of something she couldn't help: her glasses and her scarred body. Indeed she had seen many a fight and has probably seen Gensokyo grow through the years. Keima was reminded of himself and his love of video games. For some reason, that made him weird in the eyes of others. For the first time in a long time, he felt for someone.

"I don't think you're old fashioned." Keima broke the silence. "In fact, you're quite childish when you want to be."

"Huh?" Mamizou turned her head toward Keima and he could see tears welling up in her eyes.

"I mean, yeah sure, you're very ladylike but that doesn't exactly make someone 'old fashioned'." Keima said.

"Satoshi..." Mamizou whispered. "You do understand."

"Of course I understand. It's stupid for anyone to think you're weird for something you can't help." Keima scratched his head, frustrated.

Mamizou stared at Keima in awe. For the first time, she had seen the light in someone. All her years of living, she saw a person who understood her. Not like the girls in the temple who were obliged to understand or console her, but someone who was just like her. The tears from her eyes started to flow. She tried her best to hide it by burying her head in her legs but she started to sob.

Keima let her cry. He didn't want to disrupt the perfect moment. In the back of his head, he almost worried about any of the temple girls coming out and ruining the moment.

"Sa... Satoshi." Mamizou hugged Keima's arm. Her ears were twitching back and forth and her glasses were falling from her face. "You do understand." She looked up at Keima. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes had a tinge of pink, but she still looked like her normal clean self. They stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Mamizou, uh..." Keima started to become embarrassed.

"Satoshi, stay with me. Please don't go." She hugged his neck, almost stopping the flow of air through his esophagus. "I don't want you to go. You're the only real friend I have."

Keima corrected himself so he could breathe. "No, you're wrong."

Mamizou untensed. "Huh?"

"Mamizou, if you can make a friend out of me, you can make a friend out of anyone." Keima stood tall. "Of that, you can be sure."

The dipping sun shined past his silhouette like that of a hindu god. Mamizou stood with him.

"I can?"

"You can."

Mamizou wiped her face. The tears stopped flowing. She started to smile and stare at Keima for a long time. Only the wind could be heard, making the hollow sound it's known all too well of making. "I..."

Keima could see all of the girls behind Mamizou in the bushes. Nazrin, Nue, Shou, Kyoko, Murasa, Ichrin, and Byakuren. Elsie was also in the bushes. They were all cheering silently.

"I love you..." The words rang out and echoed in Keima's ears. Before he could reply or react, Mamizou jumped on his chest and kissed him deeply. She hung from his neck and the kiss lasted the longest out of any of the girls he had conquered. After the kiss broke, Mamizou stared at him for a bit before saying, "You changed me for the better..." Then she slumped on the ground. The beige soul ejected from her small, limp body and wailed into the night sky. Elsie flew up right behind it and it put up little fight against the containment bottle's vacuum. All the girls came out from the same bush, cheering.

"That was amazing! What the hell was that thing that came out of her anyway?" Murasa had a smile on her face.

"That?" Keima pointed at the soul in Elsie's bottle. "That's a loose soul. It's that thing I was talking about."

"Wooooahhh... It's cute." Kyoko whispered.

"So, that's it? She's cured? She looks the same." Nue nudged her head toward the direction of Mamizou's body.

"Come tomorrow she'll be back to normal..." Keima scratched his head. "Give or take."

"Still, it's surprising." Byakuren said, with her trademark smile and closed eyes. "Never would I have thought Mamizou would go for someone as young as yourself. You're quite the charmer, Keima-san."

"Of course. No one can emulate the work of a god such as myself." Keima said, full of himself.

Byakuren giggled and everyone else laughed. "So, who's gonna carry her back? Not it!" Nue shouted.

"Not it!" Shou shouted.

"Not it." Kyoko said.

Everyone said it so fast, the only two left were Elsie and Keima. Keima finished the game with "Not it." Leaving Mamizou's body for Elsie to carry back to the temple.

...

Mamizou's body had grown during the short trip back to the temple. Indeed she would be better come morning. After a brief talk with the girls, Keima and Elsie said goodbye and started toward Reimu's shrine. The trip was windy and cold, as was expected since it was night.  
The two didn't say a single word to each other during the flight. Keima was just relieved that the conquest was over with and that he was one step closer to returning home in time for Christmas.

However...

In the back of his mind, he thought about Mamizou and her problems with being 'old-fashioned'. Keima was confident that after she woke, she would be proud of the person she was and try not to mold herself to appeal to others. Mamizou proved that she could be a child as well as a lady while Keima was with her and she did it with ease. He couldn't help but think that, given a few weeks or months, Mamizou would be one of the most popular people in Gensokyo.

...And that put a smile on Keima's face.

* * *

**Mamizou's conquest is OVAHHHHH~! Such a lengthy conquest that involved a loli raccoon girl with a bushy tail! My favorite! I hope you enjoyed this conquest. **

**Now Saving...**


End file.
